


A Step Forward, A Step Back

by ThatRobotGirl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brainwashing, Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, I hope, Kinda, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Zarkon A+ parenting, low key klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-08-18 15:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 36,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8166553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatRobotGirl/pseuds/ThatRobotGirl
Summary: As the Paladins search for Matt and Sam Holt, they end up uncovering pieces of Shiro’s past. Memories Shiro would rather forget may be the key to reuniting Pidge’s family. With his memories still fractured, they must rely on the memory scanner to put the pieces back together. Along the way, the team faces hardships that threaten to tear them apart and leads them to what was once the Galra's home world and Voltron's true origins.





	1. Prologue: The Last Light

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prologue for the story. There will be more chapters.
> 
> Edit: I changed the fic's summary since this story has evolved so much over the last few months.

_Tap tap tap._

_Clink._

The shopkeeper watched as the latest wanderer browsed through the items in her shop. Occasionally, he would pick up an item, examine it, then set it down. He’d been doing it for the past 10 minutes and it was starting to wear on her nerves.

“We haven’t gotten any off-worlders lately,” She spoke up as he moved to examine a basket filled with small purple fruit. He paused and looked up at her and appeared startled. “‘Cos of the fleet passing by.” 

“Not even the usual traders have stopped by.” The shopkeeper continued. Her skin was a pale green and dark eyes seemed to scan the wanderer as he made his way to the counter. “Any particular reason you decided to stop by our little corner of the galaxy?” she probed as she looked over his dark hood and cloths that completely concealed him.

“I’m just passing through,” he said, sounding surprisingly young. “Looking for supplies before I make my way back home.” The wanderer said as he placed the supplies on the counter.

“The skies will be filled with Galra for the next week.” She warned him as she sorted through the items. “You should consider waiting it out.”

He shook his head. “Thank you for the warning but I need to get going as soon as possible.”

The shopkeeper shook her head and muttered under her breath about everyone being in a rush before handing back his items.

“That will be 20 gacs.”

He silently handed her the money and placed his items into the bag by his side when something caught his eye.

“What are these?” he said as he lifted an item off the shelf. His eyes strained as his translator struggled to interpret the strange symbols on the cover. There were two more on the shelf, covered with the same unfamiliar language.

“They’re from before the time of data pads. An off-worlder called them ‘books’ and left them here.”

His thumb caught on the edge and found that there were hundreds of sheets bound together. He carefully flipped through the pages to allow his translator to gather more information on the glyphs that filled the pages.

“You wouldn’t happen to have anything on a planet called Altea would you?” he asked, not looking up from the book.

“Only in fairytales,” she admitted, “Off-worlders would sometimes tell the young ones. Stories of a guardian made of metal who would roam the galaxy, defending it from darkness and evil.”

“If only the stories were true.” The wanderer said a bit wistfully. “How much for them?” 

The shopkeeper raised a brow at him. “You want that junk?” Neither her or anyone in the village could read the language from the books so they stayed in her shop for years.

“I collect knowledge from every planet I visit. An old habit” He said with a sheepish grin that was hidden behind a scarf.

She shrugged, “Take them. They were just collecting dust.”

As if the stranger wasn’t fill with any more surprises, he stepped back from the counter and bowed to her, a long silvery braid of hair tumbling out of his hood.

“Thank you so much.” 

She couldn’t see his face but she could tell he was smiling. She realized he couldn’t have been older than her youngest son, who had just come of age and was training to be a hunter.

“Just stay safe and try not to get yourself killed.” She muttered. “Your parents must be worried sick about you.”

At that the wanderer seemed to freeze. He stayed bent over, his gaze locked on the smooth stone floor.

“Thank you.” He said more quietly before he bowed again. The shopkeeper found herself watching him as he turned without another word and disappeared into the dense forest that surrounded the village.

* * *

 

The wanderer adjusted his hood so he could gaze up at the darkened sky.

The clouds had begun to darken with rain as he picked his way through the forest. A boom in the distance told him that it would likely turn into a storm by the time he reached his ship.

He hurried along as small droplets of water began to fall gently from above, a few landed on the bridge of his nose and around his eyes, cooling his skin and the jungle’s humid air.

This was not the first time he witnessed rain during his travels. He came across a number of other planets where it rained. Sometimes it was light, as it was now, sometimes it came down frozen, in delicate white clumps that melted when they landed on his nose. Sometimes it wasn’t even water that fell. On one planet, shards of glass and stones fell from the heavens. He shook away the memory and turned on his communicator to contact his ship.

_“Spark, I found most of the supplies I needed and will be back within an hour.”_

_“I will await your arrival, Master.”_ Spark replied in its childlike voice.

 _“How many times have I told you not to call me that?”_ he groaned softly, wishing his oldest friend would call him by his name for once.

_“113 times since our journey began.”_

_“It was rhetorical, Spark.”_ He responded with a chuckle as he climbed over a fallen log.

He looked forward to seeing his information drone once he returned. He was forced to leave him on the ship in fear of a local stealing it. He had the old drone ever since he was a child and considered Spark as a dear friend. He also contained a copy of his video log from his journeys. He needed to make a new log before he left the planet. 

Drizzle fell around him, cooling the humid forest around him. It was almost soothing. He closed his eyes and thought of his father. It had been months since he last spoke with him.

He planned on sending him a message once he returned to his ship, to inform him that he is nearing the main fleet and was coming home.

His entire life, save for these last few months of traveling the galaxy, had been spent inside ships. The cold sterile environment was all he knew until he worked the courage to leave. It was terrifying at first, leaving the place he called home. The galaxy contained wonders, as well as many dangers he only read about during his studies.

After the fear faded, it was replaced with a sense of wonder and curiosity about the galaxy. Part of him was still terrified by the galaxy, but his desire for knowledge overpowered his fears.

Most of the time.

As his hood grew heavy with rain, he considered removing his scarf and hood that concealed his face, to feel the cool drops of water on his skin. It was a foolish desire, as he never went anywhere without either. The only time he allowed himself to remove his hood was while he was in the safety of his ship, alone save for Spark.

‘But no one else is around.’ A small voice in his head whispered as his hands hovered on either side of his hood.

It was true. He left the small village long ago, he could see it from the hill he stood on, the houses appearing no larger than the pebbles by his feet. His bag thumped against his thigh as he walked. He thought about the books the shopkeeper had kindly given him. While they did not contain the knowledge he was seeking, he looked forward to reading them once he returned to his ship.

He made a face a low growl escaped from his stomach.

As tempting as it was to stand in the rain for a moment longer, he needed to get back and prepare himself a meal. He was running low on rations but considering he was already so close to his destination, he decided against buying food while he was in the village.

 _“I’ll see you soon, Spark.”_ He said before he shut off his communicator.

After lowering the hood over his face and readjusting the strap of his bag, he continued on his way through the dense forest.

He softly hummed an old song he learned as a child, hoping to distract himself from his grumbling stomach until he reached his ship. His pointed ears twitched as a branch nearby snapped. He paused mid-step and stared in the direction of the noise. Along with the sound of falling rain, the forest was filled with countless sounds that were unknown to him, though this sounded far too close for comfort.

He decided it was best to pick up his pace and hurried to his ship. It was just a little further. He froze when he heard another loud snap, this time to his left.

As he turned to investigate, he cried out as he was suddenly tackled from behind. He threw his arms out in front of himself as he crashed to the ground. His gasped as something landed on his back and knocked the breath out of him. His arm ached as his bag was ripped from his shoulder.

The rain began to pick up as he struggled to his knees and watched as two small creatures with green skin and dark hair, giggle at his misfortune before running off into the brush. With a start, he realized one of them was running off with his bag.

"Hey!" He yelled after them and slipped in the wet ground before stumbling after the thieves.

He suspected they were locals from the village and may have even followed him into the forest. Their green skin blended with the forest and made keeping track of them through the dense brush a challenge. It almost seemed as if they slowed down every time he lost sight of them. He didn't dwell on it, his only concern was retrieving his supplies and returning to his ship.

"Get back here!" He yelled, knowing it was hopeless, he doubted they would stop, but he chased after them nonetheless.

As he ran he wondered how he would be able to find his way back to his ship if he ended up hopelessly lost. He could probably contact Spark, if he couldn't find his way back on his own.

The two children, at least he assumed they were children, they were much smaller than the adults he had seen in the village, lead him to a clearing. He should have suspected something was off before he even reached the clearing. The way the two appeared to be leading him somewhere, always staying in sight and reappearing when he lost them.

His suspicions came too late as he was, yet again, struck from behind and knocked off balance. Something wrapped around his chest, preventing him from bracing himself as he fell on the muddy ground. Pain shot through his mouth as his fangs bit down on his lower lip. He hissed in pain as he was hauled to his feet. His hood obscured his vision, preventing him from seeing who had attacked him.

He could hear a series of odd sub-harmonic voices, he assumed there had been more attackers lying in wait for him. They spoke the language native to this planet, he could only make out a few words through the pain.

Usually languages came naturally to him. He knew it was the translator chip implanted behind his ear that allowed him to understand most species across the galaxy. This time however, it was difficult to understand what they were saying as the translator gathered the information necessary to interpret them.

He was aware of the vine-like rope that wrapped around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides as he was slammed into one of the large trees lining the clearing. He sank to the ground as the group, he could now tell were five, including the two children he chased after, surrounded him.

His vision blurred a bit as water dripped onto his eyes from his soaked hood. Somehow it had not fallen off or was yanked off his face. He knew things would likely only get worse if they saw his face. He tried to steady his breathing to calm himself. He's been in worse situations than this, he could get through this.

After a moment, the leader of the group stepped forward and knelt before him, a knife in hand. When they spoke, he realized it was a young woman.

_"You came from the sky, did you not? As others have before?"_

For a moment, all he could do was stare. While these natives were similar to the ones he had seen in the village, it did not appear as if they lived among them. Their cloths appeared worn out and, like his cloths, were covered in mud. He noticed the two older ones carried spears that appear to have been sharpened branches, though the spears were strapped to their backs. They, he assumed where the woman's brothers as they seem to closely resemble one another, were pointing guns at him that appeared to be Galran. It did not surprise him, considering the main fleet flew so close to the planet.

He was beginning to regret leaving his blade behind on the ship. How many times had his mentor told him not to go anywhere without it? He could imagine the disappointment on his face if he knew he'd thrown away years of training to be ambushed like this.

The woman pressed her knife against his throat when he did not answer. 

"Yes!" He gasped out, "I came from off world!" The knife didn't move from his neck but even with his scarf, blade sliced a thin line into his neck.

"We want the ship you used to come here," she said, her green skin glistening in the rain. Her dark hair was tied back into a loose braid and hung past her shoulder. Her eyes, like the rest of her group, were completely black, he suspected their eyes were more sensitive to low light than his own.

The moment his bag was stolen he knew he was being robbed, except now they wanted his ship, his only way back home. He couldn't reach the small knife he'd hidden in his boot and he couldn't contact Spark. He needed to distract them long enough so he could free himself from his bonds and outrun them somehow. But he knew that was pointless, it was likely that they knew the forest more than he did. He needed to gain their trust somehow.

"I understand; you want to leave this planet. It must have been hit by Galra forces in the past and you want to keep your friends safe." He said, gesturing to the small group. "You want my ship because you want to get away from them as much as I do." 

That wasn't completely true, he had his own reasons for going to the Galra, but he had seen the horrors the Empire had inflicted upon the galaxy. This was just one of countless planets they'd hit. He had seen the empty faces of the villagers; the same empty faces he had seen throughout his travels.

"They've been taking your people away haven't they?" He pressed on when the leader didn't say anything, just narrowed her eyes at him.

He could tell that his hunch was correct. The village seemed too empty for its size. He suspected that there were hunters out in the forest but after seeing the Galran weapons the locals carried, he had an idea of where they might be.

"They were taken." The youngest child finally spoke up. The woman holding the knife to him turned and hissed at the child but they continued speaking. "The hunters from our-"

"He is in no position to ask us anything." She hissed again and the child fell silent.

"But it is true isn't it? I've seen it before, on planets much like this one." The wanderer said, an idea suddenly formed in his mind. "Instead of killing me and taking my ship, I can take you off this planet. You and anyone else you want to bring. My ship has room."

That wasn't a completely true either, his ship did have room, but it wasn't big enough to take an entire village.

The woman looked back at her small group, none of them seemed to know how to pilot a ship, even if they could, Spark would keep the ship on lockdown until he arrived. He told them as much, hoping that he would able to convince them to keep him alive.

The group conversed in their language, his translator had difficulty understanding but it was clear that he had convinced one half of his idea while the other did not seemed willing to take their chances. That left their leader with the deciding vote.

The leader lifted her knife away from his neck and seemed to consider his offer. The wanderer let out a breath he had not realized he was holding. 

For a moment he believed that he was going to make it out alive, that is until she finally noticed his face, which had been hidden in the shadows of his hood. It slid up a few inches past his forehead while he had been wearing down the vine behind his back with his claws. Her eyes widen before she backed away from him, hissing under her breath.

"He's one of _them_." She growled as she stood between him and her small group, as if he could be a threat even if he was bound.

Suddenly all their weapons were pointed at him again. He stuttered as he tried to calm them down, he didn't want them shooting him out of fear.

As if things couldn't get any worse, a Galra command ship descended from the storm. For a moment all they could do was gap up at the ship as its shadow fell over them, blocking out the rain and the wind.

" _You brought them here!"_ She growled in accusation as she turned back to glare at him.

"I didn't!" But she wasn't hearing it.

He turned his head to the side, narrowly avoiding a dagger to the eye. It sliced into his cheek before burying itself into the tree behind him.

He finally broke free from his bonds and stumbled to his feet just as the ship's tractor beam activated, tearing through the trees just outside of the clearing. He turned to the stunned group as the beam headed towards them.

_"Run!"_

They didn't need to be told twice. The two younger ones had already disappeared back into the forest while the remaining three scattered to avoid the beam.

He tried to run as well but knew it was too late as the red glowing beam took hold of them and lifted them toward their doom.

* * *

 

**_Two Weeks Later_ **

Only the two children had managed to escape while the wanderer, the leader and her two brothers ended up in the brig with him. The four of them had been separated into different cells but the wanderer would occasionally feel the warrior woman's glare from time to time. He never learned their names, not that it mattered.

The rest of the prisoners sat as far away from him as they could once rumor about him had spread among the other prisoners. 

_He's one of them._

_One of them._

_Enemy._

_Why is_ he _here?_

_What did they do?_

_Stay away._

He would hear them hiss even in his dreams.

Things only got worse the day he survived his first match. His pressed a gloved hand to chest. It still ached from the axe wound that spanned across his chest and ended at his right shoulder. His opponent would have sliced his head off had he been slower. He thanked his mentor for being so hard on him during training. 

He was lucky to have survived this long and yet there were times where he wished he could give up. He'd been told that his plan was foolish but did he listen? Obviously not.

 _You can't leave him behind._ He reminded himself,  _Not again._

He shut his eyes. It hurt to think about his brother. Would he even be able to find him now that he was a prisoner? Maybe he was a fool to think he could survive long enough to find him. He pulled his hood lower over his face, his tears already long dried out. 

His ears twitched as he heard the cell door open. He looked up as two new prisoners were shoved in. The first crumpled to the floor, his head bleeding from a cut on his temple. The other stumbled in after him before throwing himself over the one on the floor, as if to protect him from both the guards and the other prisoners.

Normally new prisoners did not interest him, they would be gone almost as soon as they arrived so there was no point in memorized faces or names.

These two however, were different. He'd never seen a species quite like them. They were bipedal, as most of the prisoners were, but their ears were oddly round shaped. One had pale skin while the other was darker and taller than his companion. They both appeared to have hair, like his, but cut much shorter. He lifted his hood a few inches to get a better look at them.

As the two aliens spoke quietly to each other, his translator could not interpret anything they were saying. He suspected that they came from a part of the galaxy the Galra had not yet touched, where their language was still unknown. He briefly thought about the books the shopkeeper gave him and wondered if it was the same only in its written form.

As he leaned in closer so his translator could pick up on more of their hushed conversation.

With a start, he realized they somewhat resembled Alteans. They lacked the face markings under their eyes and their ears were not long and pointed. He could also sense the quintessence within them felt odd, different. It felt weak, as if it had never been used, which was bizarre considering many species knew how to channel quintessence one way or another. It was a common skill, even if the Galra no longer practiced it. These being’s quintessence was weak, untapped but in a way it felt powerful. He had never seen anything like them before.

The smaller one helped the one on the floor to a sitting position and tried to wipe away the blood on the other's forehead. He assumed that the taller one was attempting to sooth his friend, telling him that he was fine and not to worry about him. From their body language he could tell they were close to one another. Friends perhaps or something more.

He was not sure what compelled him forward, perhaps it was their similarities or their differences, but he found himself kneeling in front of them.

The tall one seemed to notice as the other prisoners moved away from him but said nothing as he and his companion watched him with a mix of curiosity and mistrust.

He gripped the scarf that covered his face, willing his face to change. The color of his eyes darkened and his fangs disappeared before he removed the scarf and teared off a long strip. He held it up to them as they stared at him.

"To stop the bleeding." He clarified in their language, upon sensing their confusion. Though they appeared confused by his words. He looked away, perhaps his translator had not gathered enough data on their language for him.

He held up the strip to them again and gestured to the cut on the dark one’s forehead. Understanding filled their eyes.

"Thank you." The small one said before reaching out and taking the cloth. "I'm Matt Holt by the way." He said as he wrapped the cloth around his friend's head.

"Takashi Shirogane." He said as he held a hand out to him.

"Matthew Holt and Takashi Shirogane." He said, testing out their names on his tongue. Their names felt foreign to him but held a nice ring to them, despite the fact that he had difficulty pronouncing them.

"Nice to meet a friendly alien for once. And just Matt and Shiro is fine." said Shiro and held his arm up to him.

He stared at Shiro's out stretched hand, unsure what to do for a moment. He figured it must have been some kind of greeting and mimicked him, holding his own hand out. He was surprised when Shiro took his hand and shook it.

His surprise must have shown, Matt smiled, appearing almost amused.

"It's an Earth greeting." Matt said before holding out his hand to shake as well.

He shook Matt's hand and nodded in understanding. He had become aware by now quiet the other prisoners were and tried to ignore it.

"What's your name?" Shiro asked, breaking the silence.

He tensed, unsure what to say. He kept his identity hidden for the last few weeks. It had not been an easy task. Simple shapeshifting to alter his face was exhausting to hold for hours, especially during a match. It forced him to keep his face hidden with his hood at all times for fear of being recognized.

Shirogane and Matt seemed to sense his distress. They looked at one another, almost as if having a silent conversation.

"You don't have to-" Shiro began.

"Shionus..." He said, almost too quietly for them to hear, "you can call me Shion."

He wasn’t sure why he said it. Maybe he was just tired of always having to hide.


	2. The Bonds We Share

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonds will be tested in this chapter. Warning for sever reaction to flashbacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special Thanks to kawaiirun for betaing the first scene and for themighiestpotato for betaing the rest of the chapter :)

Altean days, which is what the Castleship ran on, was an hour longer than earth days. Shiro didn’t complain; the extra hour gave him more time to train in the morning. It was currently 03:18 Castleship time, too early to train and too late to go back to sleep.

The hallway lights had dimmed hours ago but Shiro had no trouble making his way through the halls. After living on the ship for nearly a year, he had become accustomed to all its nooks and crannies.

Shiro stood in the observatory, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the stars. After trying and failing to fall asleep for the last few hours, he decided to go to the one place he could be alone with his thoughts.

The stars reflected off the large window, filling the observatory with a soft light. Staring at the stars brought Shiro comfort when he became restless. It reminded him of summer nights when he was younger.

At this hour, the Castleship was quiet, save for the distant hum from the crystal that powered the ship. It was nothing like the Galran ship he was held captive in. Nearly every day had been filled with the screams and cries of other prisoners. Sometimes Shiro’s were mixed in with them. 

“Shiro?” Keith’s voice brought him back to reality.

Shiro opened his eyes as Keith stepped out of the shadows.

“What are you doing here this late?” asked Keith. He ran a towel through his damp hair as droplets of water fell to the ground.

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Shiro smiled as Keith moved to stand beside him, “Looks like we had the same idea.” The stars reflected off Shiro’s dark eyes.

“Reminds me of the old days.” Keith smiled as they sat down. “It’s been awhile since we’ve done this.” he sat back, his eyes scanned across the countless number of stars before them. It was a view he had long gotten used to, but he enjoyed the rare moments he was able to spend with Shiro like this. With nothing but them and the stars.

“Remember when we were kids?” Keith questioned, “We used to sneak out when your parents fell asleep and head out to the desert to explore.”

Shiro chuckled at the memory. He remembered that night, years ago, when they found the old shack and made it into their hideout.

“What are you talking about? You’re still a kid.” Shiro grinned as Keith looked away.

“Says the guy who pretends to make space gun noises.” Keith retorted as he fiddled with a loose thread from his towel.

“I’m 8 years older than you and practically raised you since you were 9.” Shiro laughed, “I can still remember the day you walked into my father’s shop like it was yesterday.”

He could remember his father holding a scrawny 7-year-old in one hand and a sheathed knife in the other. Keith had been wearing a tattered red shirt and his dark eyes were glued to the floor as they took him to the back of the store.

Shiro could tell that he wanted to run but his father kept a firm grip on him. He briefly explained what happened before he sent Shiro back home to find some clean clothes for Keith. By the time he got back, the shop was closed for the day and Keith was sitting in front of a hot bowl of soup.

“I’m surprised the old man didn’t just throw me back out onto the street back then.” said Keith. He had pulled out his knife and was fondly running his hand along the sheath.

“He could tell that you were hungry.” Shiro looked at Keith, “And if he’d just let you go, we wouldn’t have become brothers.”

Keith said nothing to that but Shiro could see his smile as clear as day. They sat in a comfortable silence as they stared at the stars. Keith remembered the months it took for him to open up to Shiro and his family. Then just as he was starting to feel like he belonged, Shiro’s father had passed away.

"Do you think mom is alright on her own?" Shiro broke the silence. It felt like an eternity since he’d last spoken with her. With his work with in the Galaxy Garrison and her job sending her to work abroad, it had been years since he had seen his mother outside of video calls.

"Yeah, she still has Taromaru with her to keep her company when she gets home." Keith spoke quietly. He didn’t have as many fond memories with her as he did with Shiro.

“Taromaru?” Shiro’s eyes lit up, surprised to hear that their dog was still alive. He was nearly 15 years old. “I miss him and mom. How are they? I mean the last time you saw them...before you left."

"Work kept her busy so it was mostly just Taromaru and I until I left for the Garrison." Keith unsheathed his knife and spun it in his hand, an old, nervous habit.  “I left Taromaru with Granny before I dropped out.”

Shiro nodded. He wished he could see them again but he knew it wasn’t possible for them. Maybe they would return to Earth once they found Pidge’s family.

“Did the nightmares wake you up again?” Keith asked suddenly, his eyes still on his knife.

Shiro could sense that he wanted him to change the subject, so he did.

“No…not this time.” Shiro signed as he clenched his metal hand, “I just couldn’t fall asleep.”

“I remembered something new…while I was escaping. The ship I was on was crashing. I knew I would be out of it if I survived the crash so I wrote myself a reminder.”

“What did it say?” Keith watched him carefully, worried he might get another flashback, as if he was reliving it as it.

“You have not escaped.” Shiro closed his eyes; he could practically feel the heat that had come off of his arm when he wrote the message on the wall. “They are all around you.”

“The Galra did appear after we found the Blue Lion. They probably weren’t far behind you.”

“’They are all around you’… It made me think…when the Garrison first found me, they were going to lock me up again like the Galra did.” Shiro spoke softly, sounding as if he were miles away. “A part of me must have thought that I couldn’t trust anyone…” He looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You can still trust me.” Keith reassured, “And the others. We’ve got your back.”

“I know.” Shiro smiled. Keith nodded before sitting back, stifling a yawn.

“You should get to bed, Keith. I’m going to stay here for a little longer.”

“I’ll stay here with you then.”

“I’ll be fine on my own.” Shiro smiled, “Go on.”

“Alright then.” Keith stood up and stretched his arms over his head. He sighed as his neck made a satisfying pop. “See you in the morning, Shiro.” He said as he turned to leave.

“Good night.” Shiro watched as his brother left, his footsteps fading into the distance.

He turned his attention back to the view. He could see his reflection in the window as he stood up. About an hour later, he decided it was best to return to his room and attempt to get a few hours of sleep before he started his day.

Shiro closed his eyes as he yawned, fatigue beginning to set in. He gasped when he found his reflection staring back at him with glowing yellow eyes. Voices began to echo around him as black energy crackled through his arm. He cried out in agony as he fell to his knees. He was unable to understand what they were saying, unable to focus on anything else.

Shiro groaned and gripped his arm tightly as he waited for the pain to subside. By the time it was over, he was lying on his side, drenched with sweat. The voices still echoed in head as he struggled to stand.

_“You have not escaped.”_

_“You have not escaped.”_

_“You have not escaped.”_

* * *

**_The Next Day_ **

Pidge huffed as the scan blipped in completion once more. And once more nothing useful. For what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour.

She removed her glasses and wiped the lenses with the edge of her sleeve. She looked over at Lance and Hunk, the only people on the bridge. The two of them found Pidge scanning for Galra signals hours ago and decided to stay to keep her company. Lance was currently amusing himself by flipping through the feed from the castle’s security cameras.

“Find anything yet, Pidge?” Hunk asked as he looked away from the screen. The feed was currently on Keith as he sparred with the new training robot Pidge built down in the training room.

“Still nothing,” Pidge admitted as she rubbed their eye and put her glasses back on.

“Maybe there aren’t any Galra outposts or ships way out in this sector.” Lance suggested as he flipped to another camera, this time it showed Allura walking through a large corridor. “We _are_  in the middle of nowhere after all.”

“But the lead on my family lead us all the way out here. There has to be _something.”_ Pidge argued, though scanning and failing to find Galra signals for the past few hours was beginning to wear down on her. “Maybe there use to be an outpost or even a mining colony around here but they packed up and left?”

“You really think your family is out here somewhere?”

“They have to be…”

After the ill-fated attack on Zarkon’s fleet, the team voted on beginning the search for Pidge’s family. It had only been two weeks since they reunited. To Pidge, their time spent separated felt like years. It felt as if she lost her family all over again.

Pidge followed the lead she found back when she tried to leave the team. With Coran’s help, they were able to pin point a possible location. Unfortunately, it only took them to an empty portion of space at the edge of galaxy, far from any signs of civilization.

They learned the hard way that the area was known for raiders and pirates after they drifted aimlessly for days. Lance relentlessly made space pirate jokes after they crossed paths with a small group. After taking care of the pirates, it seemed as if word about Voltron had spread to all the nearby pirates and they were left alone. Mostly.

That had been days ago, but they remained the area, scanning for any lingering signals for another lead.

“I’m sure you’ll find something, Pidgeot.” Lance said as he changed the feed. Pidge groaned at the nickname.

“How many times have I told you _not_ to call me that?” She glared at Lance, who ignored her as he stared at the camera feed.

Coran was in the kitchen, a large pot sat in front of him as he tossed in several odd ingredients into the dark purple liquid inside.

“Looks like Coran is in the middle of making dinner.” Hunk made a face. “It doesn’t look like the usual space goo…is that supposed to be _soup_?”

Curiosity got the better of Pidge and she moved to stand beside Hunk to get a better look at Lance’s screen. Whatever Coran was cooking looked rather… questionable.

“Dude, someone _has_ to get Coran to take up a hobby or something. Cooking is just _not_ his thing.” Lance arched a brow as Coran lit a blowtorch and set the odd purple substance on fire. 

“Make it sssttoopppp,” Hunk groaned as they watched Coran ruin perfectly good kitchenware. Lance changed to another feed, this time it landed on the bridge and showed their backs as three of them stood in front the monitor.

“Hey look, it’s us! Smile for the camera!” Lance grinned as he turned around.

Pidge rolled her eyes as she watch him stand from his seat and pose dramatically for the camera above them. Hunk joined Lance and pointed at the camera with finger guns.

“You know it’s only recording you and not actually taking pictures.” Pidge said as she made their way back to the main monitor and reset the castles scanners to sweep the area again. She tapped their fingers on the console impatiently as she waited for the scan to finish.

“Details.” Lanced waved her off and sat back in his chair before he changed the security feed. This time it landed on the hanger that contained the Lions. Hunk was digging in Pidge’s bag, probably for a snack, but She was too tired to notice or care at that point. Pidge sighed and set her glasses on the console. She buried their face in their hands and groaned.

“Ten-thousand-year old technology far more advance than our own and it can’t even pick up _one_ Galra signal in the middle of nowhere.”

Hunk silently placed a water pouch in front of Pidge, who took it and drained it in seconds before tossing it to the floor.

"Thanks..." she muttered.

“Like I said, we’re probably too far away from anything for the scanners to pick up.” Lance arched a brow as he watched the feed from the hanger, a look of disbelief spread across his face before turning into a grin, “But, if it makes you feel any better, Shiro’s dancing in the hanger.” Lance grinned as he gestured to the screen, “Guy’s got some moves! Actually...I can't tell if he's dancing or training. Both?”

Any other time and Pidge would have called Lance out on his bullshit but at the moment she were too tired to say anything and turned to look at the screen. Pidge blinked and watched as Shiro, who was standing in front of the Black Lion, seemed to stand in place for a moment before moving gracefully through a series of steps that lead him around in circles. Pidge had never seen him move like that.

“I didn’t know Shiro could dance.” Hunk commented as the three of them watched. “Doesn’t look like anything my dad teaches.” Hunk’s father was a part time dance instructor and taught him and his younger siblings traditional dances when they were younger. The thought of his family pricked the edges of his eyes. It had nearly been a year since they’ve been to earth and almost two years since the Kerberos mission. Hunk could only imagine how Pidge was feeling about their family right now. He looked over to Pidge, who was standing beside them again, eyes glued to the screen.

“Maybe it’s a dance from back home?” Pidge knew Shiro was half Japanese and wondered if the dance was a part of his family’s culture.  

A ping from the monitor caught their attention and the Voltron symbol disappeared from the main monitor to reveal a long line of glyphs and code.

“Looks like the scanners finally picked up something.” Lance grinned as Pidge all but lunged towards the console.

* * *

 

Allura wandered aimlessly through the halls, unable to focus on the simplest tasks all morning. She decided to take a walk to clear her head but found that her thoughts still would not settle.

A familiar scent led her to the kitchen and she found Coran in the middle of preparing an old Altean dish.

“Is that what I think it is?” Allura tilted her head as she looked into the pot. She took in a deep breath and wrinkled her nose before she began coughing.

“Oh, Allura! I should have warned you, this dish has particularly strong scent during the cooking process.” His voice sounded several pitches higher from the plugs covering his nose. Allura pinched her nose and waved her hand to clear the air.

“I remember you made this dish for father years ago. Though, I can’t imagine why he liked it so much.” Allura smiled at the memory. As a child, she couldn’t stand the dish, but seeing how happy it made her father made the scent bearable.

“The smell fades once I add the final touch.” Coran cheerfully explained as he stirred the purple liquid. It was beginning to harden into a texture similar to the food goo.

“Well I’ll leave you to it then,” Allura turned to leave before she spotted a blowtorch on the counter beside the ingredients. "And what is this for?" She asked wearily as she picked up the torch.

"Oh! It's for the finishing touch!" Coran explained, "This dish is best served _hot_." 

Allura eyed the blow torch tiredly.

“Didn’t you singe off your mustache the last time you attempted to prepare this dish?” Allura asked as Coran’s face twisted as he recalled the memory. It had taken him months to grow back his mustache. Allura couldn’t imagine why he was attempting to make the dish again after that disaster. She recalled the Paladins made it clear that they didn’t want any more surprise meals like the Paladin lunch. 

“I was young and foolish and I’ve learned from my mistakes.” He secured a wielding mask over his face, “I’ve come fully prepared this time!” His voice sounded muffled but confident under the thick mask. Allura groaned and shook her head.

"Please promise me you’ll be careful _and_ that you won't burn down the kitchen again."

"The last time was an accident, I swear! Though...I think it would be best if you were not in the room when I attempt the finishing touches." 

"Why is that?" 

"The reason my mustache did not survive the last attempt was because the fumes filled the room.” He explained, “Turns out that they are quite flammable..." he shuttered.

Allura gave her advisor a look and pinched the bridge of her nose. _"Coran"_ shegroaned softly.

"I'm kidding!" He chuckled, "Mostly... I’ve made sure the room was properly ventilated this time!”" 

Allura glared at Coran and made him swear not to use the blowtorch before she left him to finish dinner. She hoped she and the Paladins would be able to stomach the flammable meal. She decided she would make herself a cup of tea before dinner. 

As she made her way through the ship, she found herself standing in front of the door of the AI chamber. The room inside remained untouched ever since the incident with the corrupted Alfor AI.

"Oh father..." Allura whispered softly as she placed a hand on the door.

After all these months, the memory of destroying her father’s AI and his memories still weighed heavily on her mind. For a moment, she considered entering the room. She closed her eyes and imagined her father was still on the other side of the door, waiting for her with open arms so they would walk among the endless field of flowers as they always did.

Allura clenched her fists and rested her forehead on the door’s cool surface. It was a foolish fantasy. There was nothing for her in that room anymore. She knew she would never be able to speak with her father again, other than in her dreams. Even so, she found that she did not dream of him often.

Nowadays her dreams were filled with the paladins and their screams as they fell into the compromised wormhole. Tears pricked the edges of her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

A squeak on her shoulder drew her attention away from the door. Three of the mice sat on her shoulder while Platt clung to her sleeve. Seeing them brought a smile to her face. Allura chuckled softly before helping her small friend on her shoulder.

"And how have you four been?" she asked as she wiped the corner of her eye. Chuchule squeaked at her reassuringly while Plachu and Chulatt made silly faces at her until she laughed. Platt attempted to pat her on the head and nearly fell of her shoulder in the process.

“Thank you,” she giggled softly, “I needed a good laugh.”

Once the mice were satisfied, Allura began to make her way down the hall, leaving the AI chamber behind. As they passed by the castle library, they told her of the castle’s latest gossip.

"Shiro is doing _what?"_ Allura asked in disbelief. "Are you sure? He doesn't seem to be the dancing type." 

The mice all nodded and urged her to see for herself.

"Oh all right." She smiled. Her dress glided behind her as they made their way down to the hanger. 

As the doors slid open, she could see the five Lions standing stationary in a circle around the hanger. Allura smiled as spotted Shiro standing in front of the Black Lion.

She realized that the mice were right and he was indeed dancing. Allura stayed silent as she approached him, not wanting to interrupt. While Shiro moved with a certain awareness, his moves appeared unsure at times, as if he had difficulty remembering the steps. Despite the mistakes he made, Allura was stunned when she recognized the dance.

Shiro seemed to be completely unaware of her presence as he moved gracefully by his Lion's feet. His eyes were closed and he had a look on concentration on his face as he spun around and moved his arms to no music. His feet slid across the ground silently as he moved. As Allura watched, she noticed ever so often, the steps would have him facing towards each lion. She smiled, it appeared as if the Lions were watching his dance as well.

Moments later, Shiro stood facing the Black Lion once again and lowered his arms. He let out a breath as he opened his eyes and looked up at the Black Lion. 

"That was lovely, Shiro." Allura couldn’t help saying and startled the Black Paladin out of his trance-like state.

"Allura?!" Shiro quickly turned, he looked around the hanger and realized it was only the two of them, the space mice and the Lions. He cleared his throat and seemed to look at everywhere but at her. "How…how long have you been standing there?" He asked as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Long enough," she admitted and chucked softly, "The mice told me you were dancing and I had to come see it for myself." She smiled. "I apologize for startling you. I didn't want to interrupt." 

"Oh," Shiro avoided looking at her directly and cursed under his breath. He had a feeling he was being watched by someone other than the Lions, and now he realized it was Allura. 

"That dance..." She began, "It reminded me of a dance my mother taught me as a young girl."

Now Shiro did look at her. His dark eyes watched her curiously, surprised by this revelation. 

"You never mention your mother before." From what Allura told them about her life on Altea over dinner, she never once mentioned her mother.

Allura signed softly and looked up at the Black Lion. "Honestly I have very little memories of my mother. She died when I was a child."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know." Shiro said with pity in his eyes. He remembered how devastated he had lost his own his father when he was 17. 

"It's alright. What memories I do have of her are happy ones." Allura reassured him. "She taught me that dance before she died." She tilted her head and raised a brow. "How did you come to know of it?" Curiosity filled her eyes as she looked at him expectantly.

"Well," Shiro looked up at the Black Lion before turning back to face her, "There was a prisoner I met while I was captured. Before he was abducted, he traveled the universe, searching for knowledge of a planet that was lost for 10,000 years." 

"Altea..." Allura sounded wistful as she remembered her old home.

"Yeah, he never told me why he searched for it. After meeting you and Coran, I figured he heard about Altea from a story or legend.” A smile spread across his face, “You'd be surprised by the kinds of stories the other prisoners knew. And he…Shion knew some of the best."

"Shion...he was your friend? He taught you this dance?" Allura asked, curious about this person who wandered the universe, in search of knowledge long lost to time.

Shiro nodded. "I couldn't remember him before but lately the memories have been coming back.” His smile faded, “He taught it to me back when everything seemed hopeless… He was just as afraid of dying but did his best to bring light where there was nothing but darkness." 

"It seems you cared about this person greatly." Allura noted his face soften as he spoke. 

Shiro nodded, "I can't remember what happened to him. If he survived or if he's still a prisoner. I like to think he found a way to escape. He was rather resourceful, especially in the arena." He smiled at the memory of an alien who always hid his face behind a hood. Shiro could still remember how his friend had difficulty pronouncing his and Matt's names when they first met. Everything else he could remember was fragmented and made little sense to him.

Allura smiled sadly at Shiro. She also hoped his friend was alive and well.

"I wish there was more we could do to put a stop to Zarkon's gladiator arenas." Her voice edged with frustration as she clenched her fists.

With just seven of them, she knew there was little they could do to free the thousands of prisoners from the Empire's clutches on their own. They already managed to liberate several groups of prisoners but Allura knew there were still thousands more, either in mining colonies scattered across the universes or forced to fight in the gladiator arena as Shiro had. 

"Don't beat yourself up over it.” Shiro placed a hand on her shoulder. “We'll free them all one day." He gave her a reassuring smile as Chulatt ran up his arm and climbed into his head. Allura couldn't help but laugh. 

"I know we will, one day." She repeated. 

Shiro opened his mouth as if to say something more when the intercom above them suddenly blared to life.

Chulatt nearly fell off Shiro's head as both he and Allura covered their ears as an excruciatingly loud noise filled the hanger. It sounded like thousands of voices crying out for blood. Flashes filled Shiro's vision, he groaned as the noise only got louder and forced him to his knees.

 _"Where's the volume on this thing?!"_ Lance's cry cut through the sea of voices. 

Moments later, the noise stopped. Allura's ears ached as she slowly opened her eyes.

"That was...unexpected." She said as she looked up at the ceiling of the hanger. "Are you alright Shiro?" She turned to him and was stunned to find him on the floor, still covering his ears, look of panic in his eyes. "Shiro?!"

Allura knelt down to him, "Are you alright?" He didn't seem to hear her and groaned in discomfort. 

His eyes appeared to stare a million miles away as he pressed his forehead to the floor. "Shiro!" She called to him again but he remained unresponsive.

Her eyes frantically scanned the hanger for anything that would help. She unsure of what to do or how she could calm her friend. She noticed the Black Lion's eyes blazing with light, reacting to her paladin's distress. A low growl rumbled from the other Lions as they sensed their companion’s agony. 

Allura wrapped an arm around Shiro's shoulders, she didn't know what else she could do other than stay by his side. His breath came in short gasps as sweat trickled down his face. She needed to remain calm for his sake.  

"Shiro, listen to me. Take deep breathes." She told him soothingly as she stroked his back.

The mice climbed down from her shoulder to help and demonstrated to him. After a few moments, he seemed to hear her and began taking deep breaths to calm himself.

Allura looked up to the Black Lion and breathed a sigh of relief as the blazing light in its eyes slowly began to fade. Shiro groaned as she helped him to his feet. His white hair clung to his forehead and fell over his eyes.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

"I-I’m fine.” His voice was hoarse as he spoke. “W-what was that?"

"I am not sure." Allura admitted and helped Shiro out of the hanger. "Though I have a feeling of where it may have come from."

* * *

Pidge was at the monitor, typing away at the touchscreen as she tried to make sense of the signal the ship picked up moments ago.

“What did the scanners find? Please tell me it’s not space pirates again.” Hunk shuddered. He did not like fighting them.

“It’s some kind of feed that’s being broadcasted across the galaxy.” said Pidge. She pushed her glasses up her face as she tried to decode the signal. It appeared to be encrypted. “It’s definitely Galran.”

“Any idea what’s being broadcasted?” Lance asked as he stood beside her.

“Not yet but I think it’s some kind of footage. Most of it looks old. Let me see if I can hack into the feed.” Pidge said as she bent over the controls. The signal was weak but it was there. She wondered why the scanners didn’t detect it before.

The three of them jumped as loud cheering and screams echoed across the bridge, forcing them to cover their ears. The main screen was filled with countless recordings, overlapping each other, depicting what appeared to be a stadium.

“Where’s the volume on this thing?!” Lance yelled over the noise, he fumbled with a few controls before Hunk finally found the right one and lowered it to a more reasonable volume. Pidge winced as she slowly removed their hands from her ears.

“Well… _that_ woke me up.” She muttered as the three of them looked up at the main screen.

“What is all this?” asked Hunk. They stared up at the screen to get a better look at the footage.

“It looks like some sort of arena.” Lance noted the raised stands filled what appeared to be thousands of Galrans. In the center was a large clearing with four large pillars sticking out of the ground. The arena appeared different in each recording, though the layout roughly stayed the same.

“Is this that messed up gladiator pit Shiro told us about?” Hunk wondered aloud. “I mean, look, there’s Zarkon sitting _right there_.” He gestured to one of the videos where Zarkon was seated on a throne above the arena and spectators. Hagger stood on his right while an unfamiliar warrior in obsidian armor stood on his left.

“Whoa it is.” Lance turned to Pidge, who’s gaze was locked on the screen. “Never seen that guy though.” He pointed to the heavily armored Galran beside Zarkon. He held a spear in one hand and a dagger on his belt. From the way he stood he could almost be mistaken for a decorative suit of armor.

“Look,” Pidge pointed at the corner of the screen. “It’s Shiro fighting that Robeast we fought on Arus.”

Lance and Hunk immediately recognized the gladiator’s weapon. The purple orb flew around the ring, which seemed to excite the spectators.

“Ugh, I do _not_ like that thing.” Lance winced as the Shiro on screen narrowly avoided the weapon by diving behind one of the pillars. “So that’s what that guy looked like before the whole…Robeast thing.”

The footage contained countless battles between prisoners and gladiators, species of aliens they’ve never seen. The ones they did recognize seemed to resemble various animals from earth. The prisoners were easy to identify by the rags they wore and the fear in their eyes, while the gladiators were usually armored and carried advanced weapons. It was clear who the winner was for most of the matches.

“I wonder how many gladiators Shiro had to fight.” Hunk wondered out loud, there were hundreds of recordings on the screen, and hundreds more as the broadcast uploaded more to the ship’s systems. From what they could tell, a fraction of them contained Shiro.

“Let’s find out.” Pidge bent over the controls again and typed in a few commands to run a facial recognition program on the upload. The images moved across the screen and appeared to filter out the ones without Shiro.

None of them noticed as the bridge door opened behind them.

“What’s with all that noise? I could hear it all the way from the training room.” The three of them turned and saw Keith as he entered the bridge. A towel was draped across his shoulders and his hair was damp with sweat, a white bandage covered his cheek. “The training bot almost killed me when that noise blasted all over-” He paused at the door when he caught sight of the monitor. “Is that… _Shiro?”_ Keith’s eyes narrowed as he stepped closer.

The monitor was filled with hundreds of videos, now all containing Shiro. All of them he appeared to be fighting for his life, against foes that appeared more powerful than the next.

“What is all this?” Keith asked quietly. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen.

“The castle picked up on some kind of Galra broadcasting signal.” Pidge explained as Keith stood beside them. “I was thinking we could track it to see where the signal is coming from but…” she turned back to the screen, “The signal is pretty weak and it’s on some kind of encrypted network that connects all of the Galra’s ships. I’ve hacked into it but so far I haven’t been able to find the source.”

“Does Shiro know about this?” asked Keith. He turned to Pidge, who was still attempting to locate the origins of the signal, a look of concentration on her face. He noticed she wasn’t wearing her glasses and spotted them resting on the console.

“Dude, we just found all of this like five minutes ago.” Lance muttered under his breath.  

“Did Shiro really fight _all_ of these guys?” Hunk scanned over the footage as he tried to figure out how many matches Shiro fought. His eyes began to hurt and he lost count. “There are like _hundreds_ of these! How did he fight all of them by himself?!” 

“It doesn’t look like he was completely alone.” Lance noticed some of the footage contained a hooded alien, who appeared to fight by Shiro’s side during some of the matches.

“Shut it off.” Keith said coldly. “Shiro doesn’t need to be reminded of it and we have no right digging into his past like this.” He knew Shiro better than the other Paladins and had seen how badly his memories affected him.

“He never even talks about it to any of us.” Lance argued. He knew his imprisonment was something Shiro rarely spoke of, the footage on the screen was proof of that. It was a part of Shiro's mind he blocked off from them during training.

Lance didn’t Shiro understand that they were there for him as much as he was for them?

“I found the origin of the broadcast!” Pidge exclaimed, “It looks like the signal is being bounced between Galra outposts. The closest one isn’t far. It must be cloaked if the scanners didn’t pick up on it.” She saved the location of the outpost and pulled out their laptop to back up the data. They finally had another lead.

"What’s going on here?" 

They all turned to the door. Allura and Shiro stood behind them, Shiro was the one who spoke. His voice wasn’t as hoarse as it had been in the hanger but it still sounded shaky. Pidge stood and noticed he was paler than usual. She remembered when Keith mentioned when he heard the feedback from the broadcast over the ship's intercom. 

"Shiro-" Pidge began. 

"Where did you get this?" Shiro demanded and tore his eyes away from the screen, his skin prickled as if electricity coursed through his veins. His senses felt overstimulated as memories of the arena flashed before his eyes again. He groaned and tried to shove back the relentless images but they wouldn't stop this time.

Shiro didn't realize he was on his knees until he felt Allura's hand on his shoulder. 

He was vaguely aware of Pidge, Hunk and Lance scrambling at the controls as they attempted to get rid of the images on the monitor, but it was no use, the images were already burned into his mind. Keith crouched beside him, his mouth moved but no sound came out. Shiro stared past him at the monitor. His eyes widened when he spotted himself, on the screen, facing off against a familiar hooded figure

" _Wait!_ " Shiro screamed, startling his fellow Paladins. He found himself on his feet and rushed to the control panel, "Bring up that one." He pointed to the corner of the screen.

Pidge did as she was told and enlarged the recording. They watched as the Shiro on screen faced off against a hooded alien who stood a head taller than Pidge.

"He doesn't look like a gladiator." Lance noted, the alien wore ragged clothing similar to what the other prisoners wore. 

"It's him..." Shiro muttered in disbelief. "It's Shion." He had no memory of this duel and couldn't understand why he was attacking his friend.

"Who's Shion?" Pidge asked but Shiro didn't seem to hear her.

 _"This isn't you!"_ _Shion cried out as he jumped back to avoid the sword Shiro held, the heat from the blade scorched his arm. "Shiro you have to fight it!"_

 _Shiro's eyes remained cold as he continued to attack his friend. He reached out and yanked on_ _Shion's hood, ripping it from his shoulders._

_Shion fell to the floor, his golden eyes filled with terror as Shiro stood over him and tossed aside the tattered remains of his hood._

Allura gasped behind them but the Paladins didn't turn away from the screen. 

"He's just a kid!" Hunk exclaimed as they watched the footage zoom in on Shion. 

"Why are you fighting him like that, Shiro?" asked Pidge. Shiro shook his head, his eyes locked on the screen. 

"I-I don't remember any of this." His voice wavered as they watched. Keith noticed his fists clenched on the control panel. 

They watched as Shion scrambled away from Shiro as he pointed the sword at him. 

"Shiro-" Keith sensed what was about to happen next and reached for his brother to pull him away from the screen before it was too late but Shiro shook him off. 

 _"Please!"_ _Shion pleaded as Shiro lifted him into the air, his feet dangled above the ground, "D-don't let them turn you into something you're not!"_

Shiro remained unresponsive as the camera zoomed in on his face. His expression remained cold and unwavering.

The Paladins watched in horror as the sword tore through Shion's chest. His blood spattered on Shiro's cheek but he made no move to wipe it away. Emotion seemed to flicker in his eyes for a moment.

Pidge looked away from the screen. Hunk was covering his face with his hands, his eyes peaked through his fingers. Lance paled and looked as if he were moments away from throwing up. Keith's hand hovered over Shiro's shoulder as he stared at the screen, unable to believe his eyes. Allura stood behind them with her hands over her mouth. Shiro made a strangled noise and refused to look away. His metal hand dug into the console and dented the metal surface. 

Pidge forced herslef to look back up at the screen as Shiro removed the sword and watched as Shion crumpled to the ground. The camera stayed on the back of Shiro's head as he watched Shion bled out on the arena floor.

Allura whimpered softly and turned away as a large pool of blood formed around Shion. The spectator's cheers tore through the arena, echoing through the bridge. Shiro couldn't take it anymore. His brain kept replaying the moment his sword tore through his dear friend, again and again until all he could see was red. 

He could hear a scream echoing in his ears. He was a murderer, no better than the Galra, he let them turn him into a monster. It was all his fault. The screaming wouldn't stop and only seemed to grow louder. It took him a moment to realize it was his own voice. 

He couldn't hear his friends calling his name. Blood roared in his ears as his pulse raced rapidly. He was a murderer.

Murderer.

_Murderer._

**_MURDERER!_ **

His head felt as if it were about to split open. It hurt to think. So he stopped. 

His fist collided with the control panel. Pain shot through his arm but he didn't care. He deserved to feel it after what he just witnessed. The pain seemed to ground him. So he kept punching again and again.

He didn't stop until Allura dragged him away from the console. 

" _Shiro!_ " 

He snapped out of it and looked around wildly, remembering where he was. 

Matt was on the ground, his amber eyes stared up at him with concern and, he realized with a start, fear. His glasses were by his feet, one of the lenses had a large crack. Allura released Shiro as he relaxed in her grip.

Shiro blinked a few times, his vision was blurred as the adrenaline rush wore off. He knelt on the ground in front of him.

"Are you okay, Matt?" Shiro held a hand out to him to help him up. Matt gasped and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Shiro..." He said, his voice sounded higher than he remembered, "It's me, Pidge." 

Shiro's eyes widened. He stared at the broken lenses on the ground and moved away from Pidge. He looked over at the sparking console beside him as memories of what he had just done returned to him. His friends stood around, stunned by the sudden turn of events.

It was then that Coran walked into the bridge, carrying the pot of flammable purple goo.

"I finally finished preparing the perfect-" Coran froze as he took in the sight before him. "Holy quiznak! What happened to the console? Pidge are you alright? Shiro?!" He noticed Pidge was on the ground, Shiro looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Coran-" Allura began, only to be cut off by Shiro. 

"I-I'm so sorry." He gasped out and clutched his head as the memories attempted to consume him again. "I…I need to go." He stumbled to his feet. Keith reached out to help him but Shiro shook him off.

"What did I miss?" Coran asked helplessly as he watched Shiro storm out of the bridge.

"Shiro!" Keith called out and tried to run after him. He only made it a few steps before he was yanked back. He turned and saw Lance standing behind him, his fist gripping his collar tightly. "Let me  _go_." Keith hissed. 

Lance shook his head. "He needs to be alone right now." His voice wavered. "Talking to him right now will only make things worse."

"But-" Keith began to argue.

"That boy...Shion…" Allura's voice caught their attention, "He meant a great deal to Shiro. I can't imagine what he must be going through right now."

"To find out like this..." Hunk helped Pidge up to her feet. He looked up at the screen, which had blacked out when the control panel was destroyed. He handed her the broken glasses. 

Pidge stared at the cracked lens, clearly shaken by what just happened. Shiro calling her by Matt's name had been almost as painful as watching him on the monitor. 

"Which is why he needs me. I'm his  _brother_   _damn it_." Keith strained against Lance's grip but he wouldn't budge. He turned his glare to Pidge.

"This is all  _your_   _fault_." He growled at the green paladin. 

"Keith!" Allura couldn't believe what she was hearing. “No one is at fault here!”

"If Pidge hadn't found that broadcast in the first place,  _none of this would have-_ "

The next thing he knew, Lance's fist collided with his face. The force knocked Keith to the ground by Coran's feet. He appeared stunned at first, before his face twisted into rage.

"Apologize!" Lance yelled as he stood between Keith and Pidge. His knuckles were split and dripping with blood from where it collided with his cheekbone. Keith had a cut over his cheek that was also beginning to bleed. 

"Guys-" Hunk tried to step between them. 

"Stay  _out_  of this, Hunk" Keith hissed as he rose to his feet. He kept his eyes locked on Lance as he raised his fists in front of him. 

"I said  _apologize."_ Lance growled at the red paladin and mimicked his stance. Allura was about to step between the two before a high pitched voice tore through the bridge.

 _"Stop it!"_  Pidge screamed, her voice sounding like a child. Tears filled her eyes as she clutched her broken glasses tightly in her fist. "Please just stop fighting." She said weakly.

"Pidge..." Allura placed a hand on their shoulder.

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen.  _I just wanted to find my family_." She ran out of the bridge, nearly running into Coran, who was still standing by the door, dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.

"Pidge!" Hunk ran after them but stopped in front of Lance and Keith. Without a word he grabbed both their heads and smacked them together. Allura winced and watched as Lance and Keith crashed to the floor, both gripped their heads in pain.

"Ow!" Lance yelped, "What did I do?!" He groaned as he clutched his aching head. 

Keith recovered faster and stood without giving the Blue Paladin a second glance. His priority was to find Shiro. Lance rose to his feet with a groan and walked past Coran. He grabbed a handful of purple goo from the pot before he left. Allura had a good idea what he planned to do with it but didn't have the energy to stop him. Moments later, was only Allura, Coran and the mice on the bridge.

"Could you please explain what just happened?" Coran clutched the pot of purple goo as if his life depended on it. 

"A rift has formed between the team." Allura sighed softly, "One that may not be easily repaired."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And no one ate dinner that night...  
> I have made a huge mistake. I didn't intend to make a rift between the Paladins. Sure hope no one tries to attack the Castleship since they certainly can't form Voltron or work as a team right now.
> 
> EDIT: Just to make it clear, Shiro's mother is alive while his father is dead. I didn't catch an edit I forgot to change. Also I changed the name of Shiro's dog to Taromaru.


	3. Divided

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peanut butter flavored food goo and feels all around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks for satan’s_handbag and kawaiirun for betaing this chapter. Heh...the chapter's actually been done for a few days but then life happened. Not sure when the next update will be since I intend to get most of my homework done before next weekend...

_Why did I say that?_ Shiro thought as he made his way through a long corridor. He had mistaken Pidge for Matt after he destroyed the main console. _What is wrong with me?_

His head was pounding and his hands shook. A part of Shiro felt relieved when no one followed him out of the bridge.

After what they’d just seen, he didn't think he could face any of them ever again. That footage felt like a nightmare. He stood by and watched himself, unable to do anything to stop himself as he buried the sword into Shion’s chest.

Shiro stumbled and caught himself on the wall as he was struck with a whirlwind of flashing images; the heat radiating off his sword as he stalked towards Shion, the fear in Shion’s eyes fueling his bloodlust as cheers and screams tore through the arena.

 _It couldn’t have been me._ But they had all seen the proof, and now the memories of the event were coming back to him. He trembled as the memory continued to replay itself in his mind.  

 _“Shiro? Are you alright?”_ Shion’s voice came from behind him.

Shiro’s eyes widened as he frantically looked around the hall, but it was empty.

“I just imagined it…” Shiro sighed. He closed his eyes as another memory returned to him.

* * *

_Ever since he defeated Myzax, Shiro could feel the eyes of the prisoners watching his every move. They still couldn’t believe a human, a species never seen before, had defeated such a powerful gladiator. Rumors of him had spread throughout the brig; he could hear them whispering now, in their alien languages he had no hope of understanding on his own._

_There were only two other prisoners he could communicate with: Shion and a telepathic alien named Amicus. When Shiro asked him what they were saying, Amicus had touched his forehead with one of his many hands, which temporarily allowed him to understand the other prisoners. The rumors were rather...bizarre:_

_"Apparently their bodies are multi-jointed!"_

_"Their hair color depicts their personality, I'm sure."_

_"I heard you could throw a human alone on a planet and he could survive off of oxygen alone!"_

_"I saw their chests expand while fighting! Maybe it's a defense mechanism?!"_

_"I heard their skin helps camouflage them in sand."_

_"I heard just by making eye contact with one you could pass out!"_

_"No!!! I heard if you looked them directly in the eye they could absorb your quintessence!"_

_Shion seemed to grow as uncomfortable as Shiro was and told him not to pay the rumors any mind. Instead, he told him to focus on his next match._

_“The next Gladiator is going to be tough; his skin can change color to mimic his surroundings. But his blades are connected by a long chain. You’ll need to wait and listen for the chains to figure out where he is.”_

_“How do you know all this?” Shiro wondered._

_“I... read about the Galra’s most powerful warriors back when I was traveling…” He didn’t seem as if he wanted to elaborate so Shiro left it at that. “He has a habit of attacking from behind so be prepared for that as well.” Shion continued._

_Shiro found it was difficult to focus. His thoughts kept drifting back to Matt. He was worried and he hoped that he was taken to the same work camp Sam was sent to. Was his leg okay? Had he hurt him too badly? No it was just for show...Matt was going to be fine. At least he wouldn’t be forced to fight for his life. He could survive and find a way back home someday._

_“Shiro? Are you alright?” Shion suddenly asked, startling him out of his thoughts._

_“I’m fine…I just...I just can’t stop thinking about Matt...and what I did to him.” Shiro buried his face in his hands. It had been days since he saved Matt from the arena, but he still couldn't forgive himself for what he had done to him. When he shut his eyes, he could see the fear in Matt’s own as he stared up at him._

_A lithe hand touched his shoulder. Shiro looked up._

_“You did what you had to, Shiro.” Shion said softly. “If you hadn't hurt Matt, Myzax would have killed him.”_

_“I know…” Shiro sighed, “I just hope he’s alright and made it back to his father…”_

_“Are you sure you're fine?”_

_“No…” Shiro admitted. Even with the rush of battle long gone, he still felt full of energy. He was tense and felt as if he would snap at any moment._

_“Dance with me.” Shion suddenly said._

_“What?” Shiro was dumbfounded; it was the last thing he expected to hear, in a prison cell of all places._

_“I’m going to show you an Altean dance.” Shion clarified as he rose to his feet._

_“Why?” Shiro probed._

_“Because you need to stop and relax for a moment, I know that won’t be easy with our current situation but you need to try. Your quintessence is getting unstable.”_

_“Quintessence? I heard the others mention it but what is it exactly?”_

_Shion tilted his head in thought. He never had to explain what it was. Almost every species he came across knew what quintessence was or at least the concept of it._

_“It’s...a part of you. A type of energy that is given off by all living things.” Shion explained, “There are those who can naturally sense quintessence and channel it.”_

_“So you can sense mine then.”_

_“I’ve always been sensitive to quintessence. Right now yours isn’t flowing properly and is building up.”_

_“And this dance...is going to help?” Shiro was skeptical as he took Shion’s outstretched hand._

_“It’ll help, I promise.”_

* * *

A void had been left inside of Shiro after his time with the Galra. He had done his best to ignore it so it wouldn’t consume him. It had been difficult. There were times where it seemed to swallow him up, forcing him to relive the horrors he faced, as it was doing now.

The void had grown larger, ripped open by what he had done to Shion. Shiro wasn’t sure if he could get out of it this time or if he even wanted to.

His pulse raced and he groaned weakly as he struggled to keep himself upright.

When his first memories of Shion returned earlier that week, he was so sure that he was still out there somewhere, fighting to stay alive. But now he knew the truth. Shion was dead and he was the one who killed him. The reality of it became too much for him to bare.

Shiro doubled over and emptied his stomach on the cold floor. He wiped his mouth with a shaky hand. He was startled when tears began to slide down his face. He clenched his fists as he struggled to hold them back, but once they started, they wouldn't stop.

The bizarre urge to laugh threatened to overcome him. He thought he’d lost his ability to cry long ago.

He could remember now, the last time he allowed his tears to fall was when he was sent back to his cell after he left Shion to bleed out in the middle of the arena. He felt disgusted with himself, with what he allowed the Galra change him into. He pressed his human hand to his face as his body shook with grief.

* * *

Team morale had dropped drastically after the Incident, as Lance came to call it, and he hated it. Shiro and Keith had disappeared without a trace after what happened. Pidge had hidden inside the air vents for hours. Lance had found Hunk seated in front of an open vent. It had taken the two of them to coax Pidge out of their hiding place and take her to the mess hall for some much needed space comfort food.

After Hunk apologized for bashing his head together with Keith’s and Lance apologized to Pidge for being a jerk, the three of them were back to being a team. Lance didn’t regret punching Keith; he had no right placing all the blame on Pidge like that.

Lance spent most of his time with the two of them. Pidge had become withdrawn and threw themselves into their work while Hunk stood by their side, unsure how to fix the rift that had obviously grown between the team.

Two days had passed, and the situation still hadn’t changed. Lance had briefly run into Keith earlier as he walked by the training room, but was met with a cold glare before Keith left without a word. He suspected that Hunk and Pidge were currently holed up in the workshop, tinkering away at upgrades or projects.

No one had seen Shiro, though the Black Lion was still in its hangar and none of the shuttles were missing, so that meant he was still on the Castleship.

He was probably hiding out in his room and needed more time to himself. Lance could understand that; he just wished that Shiro would talk to someone soon. He knew from experience that it was never good to keep emotions bottled up. And who knew when another space pirate attack would happen? Or worse, the Galra.

Lance sighed as he made his way through the hall. As much as he liked to boast about his superior piloting skills, it would be a disaster if the Castleship was attacked with the way things were.

Usually when he was stressed like this, Lance would go to the bridge and find Earth on the star map. Unfortunately, the map, along with some of the castle systems, were down until Coran finished repairs on the console Shiro destroyed. Lance had seen Hunk helping him with repairs earlier that day and hoped they would be finished soon.

It was stressful times like these that Lance wished they could go back to Earth. He often found himself dreaming of home. He would dream about the clear blue oceans, the hot sun on his face and the sand between his toes. It was rain he missed the most. He enjoyed running through a downpour with his siblings on hot summer days. The thought of his younger siblings, Lola and Julio, jabbed at his heart. He hadn’t seen them for months since his time at the Galaxy Garrison. They must have grown in the year they had been gone, but Lance couldn’t imagine what they’d look like after a year.

“No star map, no rain, no Earth…” Lance grumbled as he kicked at the wall.

Lance did the only thing he could think of. He shrugged off his jacket as he walked to the nearest showers. The crystals on the walls flickered to life as he entered, filling the room with cool light.

He threw his jacket onto one of the benches near the stalls before tapping the screen beside one of the stalls. He quickly set the temperature and pressure and he stepped under the spray.

He closed his eyes, his clothes quickly became drenched.

Lance sighed as he imagined he was back on Earth with Lola and Julio, jumping through puddles as they ran back home.

* * *

_“Hey! Slow down, Julio!” Lance laughed as he lifted his younger brother in his arms. Julio screeched as his hair was ruffled and he struggled to get away._

_“Hurry up!” Lola called from down the street. “It’s going to rain soon!”_

_Lance’s grin widened as he placed Julio back on the ground and followed his sister. The clouds had been gray all day and the air thick and suffocating but so far not a single drop had fallen, much to Lance’s disappointment. It appeared his luck was about to change._

_“Mom will get mad if we don’t get home before the rain starts.” Julio pointed out. He knew how much Lance loved the rain but he did not look forward to the lecture they would no doubt receive when they returned home soaking wet._

_“Not if we sneak past her and get changed before she finds out.” Lance grinned deviously._

_“She’ll find out not matter how quiet we are.” Lola pouted as Lance grabbed her backpack and slung it over his shoulder along with Julio’s bag._

_“Then how about we race home? See if we can outrun the rain? Then we can tell mom that we tried to make it back but we were too late.” Lance reasoned._

_“She’s going to ask why you forgot the umbrellas again.” said Lola._

_Lance laughed, “Don’t worry about Mom, I’ll just tell her it was all my idea so you guys don’t get in trouble.”_

_“Yeah because it worked so well last time.” Julio muttered, though he was excited by the thought of racing back home. Thunder boomed above them, making Julio jump and grab for Lola’s arm. Lance’s grin widened, if that was even possible._

_“Let’s go!” he laughed and started to sprint ahead of them._

_“Wait for us!” Julio whined as he and Lola sprinted to keep up with their brother._

_Lance whooped loudly as rain began to hit the hot ground, quickly soaking into the dry dirt and drenching their clothes._

_“Hurry up, slow pokes!” Lance called out. He slowed his pace for them to catch up and then bolted down the dirt path that lead back home._

* * *

The three of them had trudged back, soaking wet from head to toe. By the time they made it back, their mother had been waiting on the front porch with a stern look. Lance had endured the brunt of the lecture but at the time, it had been worth it.

Lance would give anything to be able to run through real rain with his siblings again. He opened his eyes, surprised to find his vision blurred. His tears were lost in the stream of water as he pressed his forehead against the cool tile. After everything that happened the last few days, Lance wanted nothing more than to go back home.

“Lance? ” Allura’s voice startled him. He spun and saw her standing beside a bench. “What are you doing in here?”

“Allura?!” Lance stumbled as he fumbled to turn off the water and get out of the stall. He yelped as his shoe slipped on the slick tile. Stars burst across his vision as he slammed his head into the side of the stall. Allura gaped as she watched him slide down to the wet floor in a crumpled heap.

“Lance!” She rushed to the stall, mindful of the large puddles, and shut off the water before kneeling down in front of him.

“Lance? Are you alright?” She placed a hand on his head to look for injuries while Lance murmured incoherently. She winced when her hand came away with blood. A cut had formed on the side of his head and was beginning to bleed, dripping onto his shirt and mixing in with the water on the floor.

“Lance, hold still. This may sting a bit.” she warned him.

Lance groaned as she pressed her hand over the cut. She closed her eyes and concentrated on channeling her quintessence into him.

Through the fog and pain, Lance could see a warm golden light at the edge of his vision. Slowly, the pain above his ear began to fade until all that was left was a dull ache.

Allura sighed and moved her hand away as the cut began to close. She helped him into a sitting position.

“How are you feeling? You hit your head badly.”

“Peachy,” Lance grumbled before opening his eyes, “Did...you give me CPR? Cos’ that would be awesome.” Lance grinned and Allura promptly let go of him. He cried out as he fell back and hit his head against the floor.

Yes, Lance was fine.

He clutched his head and writhed on the ground in pain. Allura rubbed her temple as she felt a headache setting in. He groaned as he sat up and rubbed the side of his head. He perked up when he noticed the drops of blood on his shirt.

“Whoa, am I bleeding?” He felt around his head but couldn’t feel any cuts.

“You were but I managed to stop it.”

“How’d you do that?” Lance looked puzzled.

“It’s an ability that has been passed down the royal bloodline. I can channel my own quintessence and use it to heal myself or another living being.” Allura explained as she wrung the water out of the hem of her dress.

“Like when you healed the Balmera?” Lance asked.

“That was a more...extreme case, but yes.” Allura said.

“Thanks for healing me then.” Lance gave her one of his signature smiles, genuinely thankful for Allura’s abilities.

“Now...what are you even doing in here?” Allura asked halfheartedly, “You _do_ know this is the women’s showers, right?”

“What?” Lance asked as he sat up, panic setting in, “AHHH! I’M SORRY I COULDN’T READ THE SIGN!” He knew his mother would whack him upside the head for pulling something like this back home. Even though Allura was fully clothed, he could still hear his mother’s veiled threats echoing in the back of his mind.

Allura sighed; it appeared that Lance was behind on the Altean classes Coran had set up for them. She couldn’t imagine what he did with his free time that prevented him from studying the files they distributed to each of the Paladins.

“I’m not angry, Lance.” Allura pinched the bridge of her nose. She and Pidge were the only ones who used these showers and neither of them had been there at the time Lance was doing...whatever he was doing.

“How did you even know I was here?” Lance questioned.

“The castle detected the water had been going off for hours in this area. I thought there may have been a leak so I came here to check myself.”

Lance blinked slowly. He hadn’t realized how much time had passed. A quick glance at his ticker told him it was late afternoon.

“I’m sorry for wasting the Castleship’s resources like this…” Lance rubbed the back of his neck. “Could you...not mention this to anyone else?” he asked nervously as he looked away.

Allura raised a brow. This was a side of Lance she was not used to seeing.

“Lance,” Allura began, “Is everything alright? Are you upset about what happened on the bridge?”

“What?” Lance seemed startled; the Incident was the last thing on his mind, “No... Well, I guess it’s part of the reason.” He sighed and leaned against the wall. “Allura, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, ask me anything.”

“Do you… Do you think we can go home? Back to Earth? Once we find Pidge’s family I mean.” Lance asked hopefully.

“You know we can’t, Lance.” Allura sighed, “Voltron is still needed.”

“Yeah but Pidge is going to want to take their family back to Earth once we save them.” Lance argued. “We’ve been gone for a year now and after all we’ve been through, I think we all deserve a few days back home.” He added quickly before she could try to reason with him as to why it wasn’t possible.

“I understand how you feel…” Allura said softly, “I miss my home as well.”

“Then you understand why I want to go back. It won’t be forever, I just want to see my family again and see and do all the things I used to do back home.”

Allura could see the hope in his eyes, his strong desire to return to his home planet. In a way, she envied the Paladins. They still had a home to return to once they defeated Zarkon, while Allura and Coran could only visit Altea through their memories. Perhaps returning to Earth would do them some good and boost the team’s morale.

“I’ll consider it.” Allura finally said.

“Really?!” Lance beamed, “I could show you around Earth!” Lance said suddenly, an idea forming in his mind. “It may not have those flowers you love so much but there are fields of flowers back on Earth you can visit. And rain! Real rain! The liquid kind, not those rocks that fall from the sky on Altea.”

“Alright, alright.” Allura laughed softly. “But I do have one condition.”

“What is it? I’ll do whatever you ask me to.”

“Apologize to Keith.”

“Nope, nuh uh, no way.” he stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest and refused to look at her.

“At least talk to him. He refuses to leave the training room and won’t speak to either Coran nor myself.”

“And what makes you think he’ll talk to me?” Lance raised a brow. “I’m probably the last person he wants to talk to.”

“Can you at least try?” Allura pleaded, “I’ll speak to Coran so we can start gathering the quintessence necessary to open up a wormhole to Earth.”   

“You strike a hard bargain... I’ll think about it…” he grumbled.

“Thank you,” Allura smiled, “You should get a change of clothes first or you’re going to catch a cold.”

“You sound like my mom.” Lance chuckled.

* * *

Pidge was sure she was dreaming. For one thing, her hair reached past their shoulders and was tied back in a messy side ponytail. She was wearing her old clothes, the ones she left back on Earth. She was standing in the dark halls of the Galaxy Garrison, before she enrolled as Pidge Gunderson.

Katie looked around the dark hall when a noise behind her startled her. She scrambled into a recycling bin when she heard footsteps coming her way. Moments later, she watched as a security guard made his way down the hall and past her hiding place. She winced when his coffee cup hit her head but stayed silent until she was sure he was out of sight. She grumbled under her breath as she climbed out of the bin, now smelling like coffee.

 _Don’t worry about it. It’ll all be worth it once I find out the truth._ She took in a deep breath to collect herself and then she silently made her way down the hall again. She ducked as she passed the teacher’s lounge and used the light from the window to check her map again.

Katie groaned internally when she saw it was stained with coffee. Some of the ink had smudged but there was nothing she could do about it. She squinted at the map, trying to find the quickest route to her destination. It wouldn’t be this difficult to find if all the hallways didn’t look the same.

She sighed before carefully making her way past the lounge. If she had read the labels correctly, Iverson’s office should have been nearby.

Katie made her way through a long empty corridor and tensed when she heard more footsteps ahead of her. There weren’t any hiding places nearby, forcing her to turn back the way she came, until she heard more footsteps.

 _You gotta be kidding me_.

Footsteps ahead of her and footsteps behind her; she would be caught if she didn’t think of something fast. She quickly scanned the hall. She had already crossed more than halfway and the classrooms were all locked.

She considered her options and decided that she could outrun whoever was in front of her more easily. She quickly made her way to the end of the hall and held her breath. Whoever it was, they were close.

Katie nearly screamed when someone grabbed her from behind and clamped her mouth shut with a gloved hand.

 _How did they get behind me so fast?!_ She thought as she struggled to break free. She bit down on his hand, which only made whoever it was hold on tighter.

 _“Stay quiet or they’ll catch us.”_ A voice behind her growled. He didn’t sound like a guard, in fact, he sounded as if he was a teenager, a student perhaps? Katie’s eyes widened when she saw a flash of silver in the corner of her eye.

 _A knife?_ She thought. _Oh my god he’s going to kill me._

Instead, he backed up to a door behind them and jammed the knife into the crevice until it clicked and he pulled her inside. He shut the door just as the security guard’s flashlight shined on the spot they were standing in moments ago.

He held onto her with one arm as they waited for the guard to pass.

 _“Nothing in this area.”_ The guard said to his radio.

The two of them sighed in relief as the guard’s footsteps faded down the hall. Katie took this opportunity to break free from his grasp and put some distance between them. She could barely see him in the dimly lit room. He appeared to be wearing a red jacket and was still holding his knife, as if debating whether or not to use it on her.

 _Keith._ Pidge thought; they hadn’t known at the time that it had been Keith they ran into.

“Who the hell are you and why do you have a knife?!” Katie demanded.

“I just saved your neck and this is the thanks I get?” he said, placing his knife back into the sheath on his belt before checking the hand she bit. He winced when he noticed blood staining his glove.

“You nearly scared me to death when you grabbed me from behind!” Katie hissed.

“Well you were about to get caught and I was not about to let you blow my cover!” he whispered angrily.

“You trying to break in too?” she asked. Maybe he knew his way around better than she did, “Could you tell me how to get to Iverson’s office?”

“More like trying to break out.” He muttered, “And why should I help you?”

He narrowed his eyes at Katie, as if analyzing her.

“Please help me,” she pleaded, “I just need to find out the truth about what happened on the Kerberos mission.”

“What truth? They died because of pilot error.” He said dejectedly.

“No, they didn’t!” She insisted, “The crew had the best pilot at the Garrison. There’s no way it could have happened the way they said it did.”

“Don’t you think I know that?!” he growled and shook his head, “Of course you don’t. You don’t know me…and truth or not, knowing won’t bring him…won’t bring _them_ back.”

“Him?” Katie asked, but he ignored her.

“You better get out of here before you’re caught.” He said as he turned to leave.

“I’m not leaving until I find out what happened to my family!” Katie yelled, louder than she intended to. To her surprise, he stopped at the door.

“You’re not the only one who lost family…my brother was Shiro… the pilot they said who screwed up.”

“Takashi Shirogane is your brother?” She suddenly felt a sort of camaraderie towards him. He was in the same boat as she was. He nodded.

“He was my brother and now he’s gone, just like everyone else.”

“Help me find out what really happened to them.” Katie stepped closer to him. She noticed he was a couple heads taller than her. “Both our families were taken away from us and Iverson is lying about it.”

“Like I said, knowing won’t bring them back. So just let it go.” He insisted as he moved to open the door, but Katie slammed it back shut.

“Why are you giving up so easily?!” she demanded. “Why are you so afraid about finding out what happened?”

“What can we do?!” He hissed, “They’re up there and we’re stuck down here on Earth!”

“That doesn't mean I'll stop trying!” Both Katie and Pidge yelled at Keith, but their cries went unheard.

“Shut up or they’ll find us!” he hissed.

“You may have given up, but I won’t stop until I find both of our families!” Katie wasn’t even sure if they were alive. It was just a feeling she had; Matt and her father couldn’t have been dead.

For a while, Keith said nothing, his hand gripping the door handle tightly. His face was shrouded by shadows. Neither Pidge nor Katie could tell what he was thinking.

“Iverson’s office is down the hall, across the sky bridge and to the left. Can’t miss it.” And without another word, he was gone. Katie stared at the spot he once stood before peeking out of the room.

“Thank you!” she whispered to him as he disappeared down the hall. She ducked back into the classroom as another guard appeared.

“Good luck…” Keith said quietly.

Pidge watched as Katie crept out of the room and made her way down the hall as Keith had instructed. It felt like a lifetime since that night.

“Pidge?” a familiar voice called to them from the shadows, causing the dark hallway and the rest of the Galaxy Garrison to disappear.

* * *

“Pidge? Pidge, wake up.” Hunk gently tapped her shoulder.

“Five more minutes, Matt.” Pidge groaned and swatted Hunk’s hand away.

“C’mon Pidge, it’s me, Hunk. You’ve been in here all day.”

“Hunk?” Now Pidge was awake. She stretched, her neck popping loudly as she sat up.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I came looking for you. Figured I’d find you here.” Hunk noticed Pidge’s glasses were crooked and reached out to adjust them. He and Pidge had fixed the broken lens the day before.

“Thanks…” she yawned and gathered the loose parts from the project she had on her lap.

“What have you been working on, Pidge?” Hunk asked as he looked over at the contraption. Nuts, bolts and wires cluttered the floor around them. “Is that Rover?” He recognized the triangle shaped body. Several wires were sticking out of the control panel and the lights remained dimmed.

“Not exactly...I couldn’t find him after he sacrificed himself to save me.” Pidge yawned and rubbed her eyes. “So I thought I could build him a new body and upload his memory into it.” Pidge said as she pulled out a small chip attached to a chain and held it out to Hunk. “With everything that’s happened, I’d forgotten all about the backup I made.”

He took it carefully, afraid he might drop it as he inspected it. A small blue light pulsed softly at the end of the chip.

“So the little guy is in here then?”

“Most of him.” Pidge explained, setting Rover’s new body onto the table, “Just the data I stored in him. He won’t remember what happened when Sendak nearly stole the ship.” Hunk returned the chip to Pidge, who placed it back around her neck. “And there’s the issue of his personality chip. I could probably write up a program to replace it but I haven’t had the time to start on it yet.”

“Were you pulling an all-nighter again?” Hunk questioned as he helped them up; he could see dark circles under her eyes.

“I couldn’t sleep so I stayed up working...” Pidge mumbled before her stomach growled loudly.

“And you skipped breakfast too, didn’t you? Don’t worry, I got you covered.” Hunk placed two bowls on the table. “I experimented with a new recipe earlier. Enjoy.” He grinned as he handed her a spoon.

Pidge hummed thoughtfully at the yellow goo in the bowl and sniffed it cautiously.

“What is it?” she poked at the substance with their spoon. It had a thicker consistency than the usual food goo, almost creamy. The scent was vaguely familiar but not strong enough to figure out what it was.

“Just try it! I know you’ll love it.” He watched them excitedly. He still hadn’t touched his own goo. Pidge decided to indulge him and tasted it. Her eyes widened.

“Oh my _god,_ ” Pidge nearly dropped their spoon.

“What?! Is it bad?! I tasted it myself earlier and it was fine!” Hunk said, alarmed.

“Hunk! It tastes just like peanut butter! _Peanut butter!_ ” she squealed happily before shoving another spoonful into her mouth.

“I told you that you would like it!” Hunk laughed.

“How did you make this?!” she asked.

“See, I found these peanut snacks in your bag-”

“You’re the one who took my last Butter Nutter?! I was rationing those!”

“I know and I apologize. But anyways, since there was only one left I decided to run it through the lab’s scanners so I could break down its structure and recreate the taste to flavor the food goo. There was a lot of trial and error but I finally got it to work.” He explained.

“Hunk, I could kiss you right now.” Pidge grinned.

“Aww, it was nothing.” Hunk blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. He watched as Pidge quickly dug into the rest food goo. “Hey, don’t just eat it all at once! You have to _savor_ it.”

“I am savoring it.” Pidge complained.

Hunk snorted.

“What?” She raised a brow.

“Oh nothing, you just got a little food goo on your nose.” He pulled out a clean rag but Pidge leaned away from him.

“Hunk, you don’t need to do that.”

“It’ll just take a second.” He reached over but Pidge moved out of his reach.

 _“Gah!_ You’re acting just like my mom!” Pidge whined.

“Hey, just hold still!”

Pidge sighed dramatically before she allowed Hunk to clean off the food goo. In a way it felt nice being looked after like this. It reminded Pidge how her mother use to make her and Matt peanut butter cookies and dote on them when they were upset.

“Hey, you alright?” Hunk asked, noticing the sudden change in Pidge.

“Yeah…I was just thinking about my mom…” she sighed. “I can’t face her again until I bring Matt and my father back home.” Hunk placed his hand on her shoulder.

“We’re going to find them, Pidge.” He smiled.

“And we’ll get to go home once we find them.” Lance chimed in as he strolled into the lab. The ends of his hair were slightly curled and damp.

“What do you mean?” Pidge asked.

“I just spoke with Allura and made a deal with her.” He continued. “Once we find your family, we can take them back to Earth and go home for a few days to get some R&R. All I have to do is…” he made a face as if it physically pained him to say the words, “Go...apologize…to Keith.”

Pidge stared at Lance for a moment, unsure if she heard him right.

“Go home?” she asked hopefully.

“That’s great!” Hunk jumped to his feet, “You better get on it then.”

“Hey I said I would apologize, I didn’t say _when_ I would do it.” Lance grabbed Pidge’s headphones and settled down on one of the hover chairs.

“What’s stopping you from going now?” Pidge asked.

“What? Sorry, can’t hear you!” Lance cranked up the volume on the headphones and spun his chair away from the table. Pidge sighed. As long as he spoke with Keith soon, everything would be fine... hopefully. Hunk strapped on a pair of goggles and grabbed a welding torch before working on his own project. Pidge couldn’t see what it was but it looked like a pair of gauntlets. Lying on the table beside them was an orange staff.

Pidge looked at Rover 2.0 for a moment and decided to check on the progress of the scanner again. Hopefully it had pinpointed a new location to continue their search. It was clear that they weren’t going to find anything else in that sector.

For a while, the only sounds in the lab were the tapping of keys, Hunk’s welding torch, and the music escaping from Pidge’s headphones.

“Have…either of you seen Shiro around lately?” Pidge suddenly asked. Lance was spinning in his hover chair in the corner. She doubted that he heard her.

“No…” Hunk admitted as he shut off the torch. He’d been busy perfecting the peanut butter food goo for Pidge. “Keith might know. I haven’t seen him around lately but I know they like to hang out over in the observatory sometimes.”

“They are brothers after all,” Lance added. “Brothers tell each other everything…most of the time anyways.”

So he was listening.

“I can’t stop thinking that maybe Keith was right… what happened with Shiro _was_ my fault.” Pidge admitted.

“Pidge, this is _not_ your fault.” Lance stopped spinning and removed his headphones.

“I was the one who found and decoded that broadcast. He wouldn’t have seen that footage of himself killing his friend if it wasn’t for me.” She argued.

“I have a feeling that Shiro would have found out eventually, regardless of the broadcast.” Lance countered.

“He did mention during training that his memories were starting to come back.” Hunk said, he sighed softly, “A part of me can’t really believe that was Shiro in that footage…” he continued, “He looked so cold and…I don’t know it, that look in his eyes…it didn’t look right. It felt like he wasn’t really there, you know?”

“Yeah…the Galra must have really messed him up for him to kill that guy.” Lance said as he pushed his chair back towards the table. “What was his name? Shion?”

“He must have been someone really close to Shiro for him to react the way he did.” Pidge said softly, remembering the fear in his eyes as he scrambled away from Shiro.

“Why did they make Shiro fight him?” Hunk wondered out loud, he noticed that he was wearing the same prisoner clothing Shiro had been wearing, “You don’t think they made him fight other prisoners too, right?”

“Considering what the Galra have done, I wouldn’t be surprised.” Lance fiddled with one of Hunk’s tools. “We should be freeing all those prisoners Zarkon forces to fight.”

“That prisoner…Amicus was it? He told Shiro that there were aliens who have been imprisoned in the arena for decades. Shiro was there for a year. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for the ones who’ve been there longer…” Pidge said. “Once we find my family, I think we should focus on freeing those prisoners.”

“How are we going to do that?” Hunk questioned, “Shiro said those prisoners are moved from ship to ship until they return to the main fleet for the gladiator fights. Might I remind you how well our last encounter with them went: horribly. I can’t even count how many times we nearly died.”

“I know, but maybe we can free the prisoners while they’re away from the main fleet. Freeing them ship by ship may take longer, but we have to try.” Pidge pressed.

“We’re not against the idea, Pidge. But it seems like something we would need to discuss as a team.” Lance said, “That is, if we get this…incident resolved and get the team back together.”

“What do you mean if? Of course we’re going to get the team back together.” Hunk said, “We can’t let what happened on the bridge tear us apart.” He knew the team couldn’t begin healing if they kept avoiding each other. They needed to sit down and talk to repair the rift between them.

“Hey Pidge, I got a deal for you.” Lance suddenly said.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I’ll go apologize to Keith if you go find Shiro and talk to him about what happened. I think he was really freaked out about almost hurting you. You should let him know that you’re alright.”

Pidge took in a deep breath and then slowly released it.

She were ashamed to admit that she had a nightmare about the Shiro they had seen in the footage, except in the dream, it had been Matt Shiro had stabbed instead. Pidge hadn’t had the heart to tell either Lance or Hunk about their nightmare. She didn’t want the two of them to think that she was afraid of Shiro.

Before she could answer, a soft ping echoed through the room. The three of them turned their heads as Pidge moved in front of their laptop.

“What is it?” Hunk asked.

“My equipment picked up on something.” Pidge explained as they she in several commands. “I think it pinpointed the location the broadcast was being transmitted to.” She said and grabbed her headphones from Lance. “I’m hearing some Galra chatter, it’s faint but I think it might be a base.”

“It could be hidden like the last one.” Hunk said.

Lance narrowed his eyes as a series of numbers and symbols filled Pidge’s screen. He couldn’t make sense of it. He had no idea how Pidge could understand any of it.

“I got it.” She said as they quickly wrote down a set of coordinates. “Our next lead looks like it’s on a station or maybe a ship? I’m not sure, the signal kept moving so it could be on the move. There was a lot of interference but I’m not sure what’s causing it.”

“Maybe they’ll have information on prisoners?” Hunk said hopefully.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Lance grinned, “Stealth mission.”

“But shouldn’t we tell Allura about this first?” said Hunk.

“If this base is on the move, by the time we tell Allura and gather everyone, there’s a chance it could be long gone by the time we get there.”  Lance argued.

“Lance does have a point.” Pidge said, “If we go there now, we could also figure out what’s causing the interference.”

“What if we get into trouble and we need to form Voltron? We can’t do that with just 3 Lions.” Hunk reasoned.

“I doubt we would be able to form Voltron now if we did bring everyone.” Lance countered, “We’ll have to fix things later but right now we need to follow this lead before it goes cold.”

“If we’re using stealth then I think it’ll be best just to take the Green Lion.” Pidge said as they gathered their things into their bag. “We’ll need to hurry before anyone notices we’re gone.”

Hunk sighed, “Are we really doing this, guys? Going behind the others’ back like this? It feels wrong.”

“Shiro’s nowhere to be found and I can’t really trust Keith to back us up right now. It’s best if we go on our own. Besides, with the three of us together, nothing can go wrong.” Lance slung his arms around Hunk’s and Pidge’s shoulders.

“That’s what you said before we failed the simulator.” Pidge muttered as she adjusted her glasses.

“Stop living in the past! Now let’s get moving and go find your family.”

“Alright…” Hunk sighed, “But at the first sign of trouble we call for backup.” He said as he moved to gathered their bowls to take them back to the kitchen.

“What’s that?” Lance asked, noticing the remains of the yellow food goo. Pidge grinned excitedly, surprising Lance.

“Hunk figured out how to make the food goo taste like peanut butter!” she explained.

“You made space peanut butter and didn’t save me any?!” Lance cried, an hour ago he’d been dying for a piece of home. “Hunk, why are you holding out on me like this? I thought we were friends!” he whined dramatically.

“Don’t worry, I made a whole batch of it so there’s plenty more where that came from.” Hunk said.

“I say he gets none of it until he talks to Keith.” Pidge muttered under her breath. There was no way they were sharing any with him.

“Hey! Ugh _fine_ I’ll talk to him after we get back! I promise, now give me some, please.”

“We can have some together when we get back.” Hunk laughed as they walked out of the lab.

* * *

For the past two days, Coran had been busy repairing the damage Shiro had caused to the bridge. Progress was slow, but he managed to salvage as much as he could. They would need to stop for supplies soon if they were going to get it up and running again. Coran decided to take a break and look for Shiro, he had a hunch as to where he was.

He walked into the hanger and made his way over to the Black Lion.

“Shiro?” He called up to the Black Lion, “I thought you might be up there.” He received no response but he had a feeling that the Black Paladin was there. “Allura told me what happened on the bridge.” He continued.

Nothing. It seemed he wasn’t ready to talk about what happened yet. Coran would stay as long as he needed to. He wasn’t going to give up easily.

“I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but it wasn’t your fault Shiro.” Coran said, “I saw it in your eyes.” He had watched the footage for himself earlier that day. “It's possible you were under Hagger’s control at the time. I know how difficult it is to break free from it.” He knew from experience and had seen his own comrades turn against him because of the witch’s control.

 _It doesn’t change what happened_ . Shiro though and buried his face in hands. _I’m still a murderer._

“Shiro?” Coran called. “Would you please say something? Just so I can know that you’re alright.” He knew that Shiro was far from alright, but it would ease his mind a great deal if he heard his voice.

Ticks went by and no response.

“I’m here…How did you find me?” Shiro finally said, he hadn’t expected anyone but Keith to find him there.

Coran sighed softly, relieved that Shiro was speaking to him. His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn’t used it in a while. The Black Lion’s mouth was far too high up for him to look inside, but he was glad that he’d been right about his hunch. He had been beginning to think that Shiro wasn’t in the Black Lion and that he was speaking to no one all that time.

“I often sought comfort with my Lion,” Coran explained. “Back when I was a Paladin.”

Coran nearly jumped out of his skin when the Black Lion lowered its head and opened its mouth a fraction. He could see Shiro seated by the entrance, hidden by the shadows.

“You were a Paladin?” he asked, stunned by this revelation. “How come you didn’t mention it before?”

“It was lifetimes ago,” Coran sighed, “I replaced King Alfor as the Yellow Paladin after his coronation. I was a Paladin until Zarkon tore us apart, forcing Alfor to hide the Lions.”

“Why didn’t you just take back the Yellow Lion after Hunk found it?” Shiro asked, they had all known how hesitant Hunk had been about becoming a Paladin, though now he had adjusted well to the role since then.

“It was time for a new generation to take up the title and the responsibilities that came with being a Paladin of Voltron,” Coran explained.

“But you miss it…don’t you?”

“I’m content with passing on my bayard and serving as a mentor as my grandfather did for us.” He said wistfully, “But I admit, I do miss the old days sometimes.” Coran looked over to the Yellow Lion, who stood at the end of the hanger with the blue and the red lions.

 _Odd…_ he thought, the Green Lion was nowhere to be seen. Coran figured it was with Pidge, installing new upgrades no doubt.

“Shiro…” Coran said cautiously, worried Shiro might close himself off again, “I wanted to ask you something…about the prisoner you fought: Shion.”

Shiro was tempted to stay silent, instead he sighed and said, “What do you want to know?”

“Allura and I noticed something familiar about him…he possessed Altean markings on his face. We thought that maybe…there could there be a chance that other Alteans survived all these years. That Allura and I couldn’t possibly be the only ones left.”

Shiro looked through the gap, he couldn’t see Coran’s face but he could hear the hope in his voice. He couldn’t image what it felt like, being the last of an entire civilization.  

“Shion…he said his mother was Altean but he hadn’t known who or what his father was.” Shiro explained. “My memories are still a blur, but that’s what I can remember.”

“Do you know if there were other like him among the prisoners? Or if Shion had any other family?” Coran pressed for any other bit of information.  _'It couldn't be him, could it?'_

“No…I’m sorry…I think he was the only Altean prisoner there and he kept it hidden for obvious reasons.”

Shiro tilted his head back and stared at nothing. “…and it’s because of me that he, another Altean, is dead.”

“Shiro, you can’t blame yourself for what happened.” Coran insisted. “After what Allura told me, it’s clear to me that Shion was a dear friend to you.”  

Shiro remained silent, Coran waited patiently for him to say something. He could sense his quintessence along with the energy from his metal arm. Both of them felt out of balance.   

“How could Allura choose me as the Black Paladin?” Shiro suddenly said. How could he continue to lead them all after what they had just witnessed? He had killed someone in cold blood and nothing was going to change it.

Coran was about to answer when a loud roar tore through the hanger. He turned and saw the Yellow Lion, now activated, rose to its feet and slam into the hangar door.

“What’s going on?!” Shiro said as he emerged from the Black Lion, his arm glowing as he scanned the area for any possible threats. He was stunned as he watched the Yellow Lion slammed into the door and ripped off a piece of it.

“I-I don’t know.” Coran said as Shiro helped him to his feet and dragged them both behind the Black Lion as a piece of the door flew past them.

 _‘Coran, what is happening?’_ Allura’s voice came from Coran’s communicator. _‘The alarm in the hanger just went off, are we being attacked?’_

“No, something is wrong with the Yellow Lion!” he explained, “It appears to be acting on its own.”

_‘I’ll contact the rest of the Paladins. Is Shiro with you?’_

“I’m here, Allura.” Shiro yelled over the sound of screeching metal. He dragged Coran with him into the Black Lion before slamming into the Yellow Lion to prevent it from causing any more damage. The Yellow Lion skidded into the Blue Lion, knocking it over as it struggled to get back up.

_‘Keith is on his way but I can’t get a hold of the others!”_

“Oh no…” Shiro said, “I don’t think they’re on the ship anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Coran asked as he clung to the back of his chair.

“I saw the Green Lion leave the hangar an hour ago but didn’t think anything of it.” Shiro explained right as they were thrown off the Yellow Lion. The Black Lion slammed into the wall of the hanger, leaving a large dent and it crashed to the ground.

Shiro noticed Keith running to the Red lion. He ducked as the Yellow Lion threw another piece of the door before the Red Lion grabbed Keith.

“Shiro!” Keith yelled before jumping onto the Yellow Lion’s back and clung on tightly as it tried to shake the Red Lion off. He’d nearly been crushed by its tail while he had been getting to his Lion.

“Where’s Hunk? Maybe he can control his Lion.” Keith offered.

_“We don’t know where he is. You’ll have to find a way to calm her down before she tears a hole into the hanger and sends all of you out into space.”_

“Let me talk to her!” Coran cried out, “She may calm down if she recognizes another Yellow Paladin!”

_“I’m not sure what’s causing the Yellow Lion to behave this way, but it may work.”_

“Shiro, I need you to let me out.” Coran said as he made his way back to the Black Lion’s mouth.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Shiro turned and tried to stop him. And as if to prove his point, Yellow threw Keith across the hanger and into them. Coran cried out as he was slammed into the wall.

“Are you sure that’ll help? It doesn’t seem to be in a talking mood.” Keith groaned as he struggled to get back up.

“Well whatever we do, we need to do it fast.” Shiro said as the Yellow Lion tore through the hangar door and into the airlock.

Coran groaned as he rose to his feet, he looked at Shiro, who flew the Black Lion down the long corridor.

“Shiro let me out, she’ll need to see that it’s me or it may not work.”

“Alright…I’ll trust you.” Shiro said before stopping behind the Yellow Lion and letting Coran out. “Keith you’ll need to grab Coran if this doesn’t work.”

“Got it.” Keith said as he hung back to avoid the Yellow Lion’s thrashing.

“Hey!” Coran called out, but the Yellow Lion continued to claw at the door. “It’s me!” he tried again, “Your old friend!”

“It’s not working,” Keith said, ready to grab Coran before the Yellow Lion could breach the airlock.

“It’ll work! Just trust me!” At that, the Yellow Lion stopped and turned its attention on Coran. It tilted its head in confusion and seemed to narrow its eyes at him.

“That’s it, it’s me, Coran.” He carefully approached it and held his hand out.

Both Shiro and Keith tensed when it dropped to the ground, inches away from Coran.

“What’s wrong, old girl?” Coran said softly as he placed a hand on its mouth. The Lion growled softly in response before its eyes dimmed.

“It stopped.” Keith said, surprised that Coran’s plan worked. Allura sighed in relief as she watched them from the castle’s monitor.

Coran smiled and fondly stroked the Yellow Lion.

“What do you think made it freak out like that?” Keith asked Allura.

 _“I’m not sure.”_ She admitted, _“We’ll need to return her to her hanger and run some tests.”_

“The Black and Green Lions acted on their own when they sensed Pidge and I were in danger…” Shiro said, “We need to contact the others. They may be in danger.”

 _“Allura! Coran! Anybody!”_ Pidge’s voice tore through their commutators.

“Pidge?” Allura said as she tried to pinpoint the Green Lion’s location, “Where are you? Are you alright?”

“It’s Hunk,” She sobbed. “We had to…”

“What? What happened?” Allura asked as Shiro and Keith tried to ask her what was wrong.

“We need a wormhole _now._ ” Lance yelled, his voice raw as if from screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You will find out what happened to Hunk IN THE NEXT CHAPTER *cackles evilly* 
> 
> Again, because of college stuff I might be busy for a while so not sure when the next update will be.


	4. Blinded and Afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro has trouble dealing with his problems in a healthy way, brotherly bonding, the trio suffers, and a new enemy joins the fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long wait! College got in the way so to make up for it here's an extra long chapter. We're gonna find out what exactly happened to Hunk and find out some things. Special thanks to satan's_handbag for betaing!
> 
> Also warning for graphic depictions of violence, injuries, and blood.

Two days passed after the incident at the bridge, at least that was what Shiro's ticker said. It’s faint blue glow flickered in the darkness as each tick passed by. It felt like years since he stepped out of the Black Lion. He sat in the pilot seat, staring blankly at the ceiling. His mind continued to replay the footage over and over again.

Each time the memory resurfaced, it felt as if he was slowly becoming more and more detached from reality. The image of Shion scrambling to get away from him was burned into his mind, as was the moment the life drained from those amber eyes.

Shiro groaned softly as another memory emerged from the fog in his mind. He could see Matt staring up at him with the same look of fear in his eyes. He pressed his hand over his face as his head began to throb. The cool metal of his arm helped if only for a moment.

“Shiro?” Keith’s voice snapped him out of his stupor. “It’s me, open up.” Keith appeared on his monitor, a small bag was slung over his shoulder. For a few moments, all Shiro could do was stare at the monitor.

“I know you’re still there.” Keith said as he waited for a response. He watched as the Black Lion lowered its face to ground level and opened its jaws.

With effort, Shiro pulled himself out of the seat and made his way to join Keith at the entrance. He noticed a white bandage covered his cheek, a purple bruise peaked out from where the edges had curled. When Shiro had asked him about it, Keith changed the subject. He decided not to press the issue.

“I brought you some stuff.” Keith said, noting the dark circles under his eyes. “And it looks like you haven’t slept again.” He said with a sigh before he dug through the bag and tossed Shiro a bedroll. He knew Shiro had difficulty sleeping but it would be more comfortable than the pilot seat.

“Thanks…” Shiro sat on the ground and placed the bedroll aside. He watched as Keith continued to dig into the bag and pulled out a pouch of water.

“How are you feeling?” Keith asked and handed him a pouch of water. Shiro took gratefully and downed it in seconds. He crumpled the empty packet with a sigh and grabbed another pouch to pour over his face. The cool water helped clear the lingering fog in his mind.

“The memories come and go…it’s not as bad as before.” He admitted and ran his fingers through his damp hair.

“I bought you something to eat.” Keith offered him a bowl of food goo, though the color was more yellow than green.

“What’s with the color?” Shiro asked wearily. He wasn’t sure his stomach could handle anymore of Coran’s surprise dishes. At least it didn’t smell.

“I found Hunk in the kitchen and he said to try it. I think he made it himself.” Keith shrugged. Hunk wouldn’t let him leave without taking the strange colored food goo. Keith hadn’t tasted it yet, too keen on making sure Shiro was alright.

“I’m not hungry.” Shiro pushed the bowl away before his stomach growled loudly, betraying him.

“Oh, really? Your stomach says otherwise.” Keith couldn’t help but grin and pushed the bowl back to him.

Shiro sighed, he hadn’t had much of an appetite since the Incident and anything Keith brought him so far remained untouched. The sight of food after his outburst made him sick to his stomach but two days of starving himself and lack of sleep was beginning to wear down on him.

Keith watched him, his eyes drilling holes into the side of his head. Shiro sighed again and scooped up some food goo. He barely noticed the taste but it had a more pleasant consistency than the usual goo. He slowly began eating it, trying to savor the taste but it felt flavorless to him.

“So…” Keith began after a few moments of silence, “How much longer are you going to stay in here?” Shiro’s spoon froze halfway up to his mouth, he set his bowl down.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around all this…” He knew he couldn’t stay holed up in the Black Lion for much longer. He was going to have to face his actions and his team eventually.

“All the things I did to survive in the arena are slowly coming back to me.” Shiro explained. “It was bad. There were battles I couldn’t back out of where I had to fight against fellow prisoners.”

The faces of countless innocent prisoners flashed across his mind. When he refused to fight, a Druid would be summoned to inject him with a glowing liquid that forced him to fight. He could still remember how it felt. It was as if he had become a prisoner of his own body, forced to watch as mercilessly fought against his opponent.

Whatever he was injected with left him feeling lethargic and unable to move for days afterwards. He remembered Shion told him that his eyes had changed to a sickly yellow until the liquid had worked its way out of his system. Later he learned the liquid was called hagarium and that it was often tested on uncooperative prisoners.  

Afterwards, he swore he would never let them do that to him again and did as he was told. If they were going to force him to fight innocent prisoners, then he would do it on his own terms. 

Keith remained silent as he admitted everything to him. Shiro was relieved that he could talk to Keith without any judgement. But there were memories he could not admit even to himself.  

There were moments during the heat of a match when he realized he _enjoyed_ it. The satisfaction and relief he felt when he took down a powerful gladiator and realized he had earned one more day to live gave him a rush like no other. He always felt disgusted with himself in those moments and tried to shove the feeling away.

 _Maybe it was the monster the Galra turned me into._ Shiro thought as he stared absently into his bowl.

"Wanna go spar it out?" Keith placed his hand on Shiro’s shoulder and awkwardly patted his back. Shiro couldn’t help but smile at his attempt to make him feel better. Though, as much as he needed a distraction, sparring was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Maybe later…” Shiro replied softly, for now he was content with sitting there and talking with Keith. “Maybe we can head over to the observatory?”

“Whatever you want." Keith smiled, relieved that Shiro would be leaving the hangar with him this time. The two rose to their feet. Shiro bent down to pick up his bowl when pain suddenly radiated through his arm. He cried out and fell to his knees.  

“Shiro?!” Keith asked, alarmed. “Are you alright? Is it your arm again?” Shiro shook his head as he gripped his arm tightly. He gritted his teeth as the pain grew more and more unbearable.

“N-no…this feels worse.” Shiro gasped and clenched his metallic fist, it felt nothing like the phantom pain that plagued him at night.

“We need to tell Allura about this.” Keith said as he knelt down beside Shiro and rubbed his back. “Maybe the healing pods will help.”

“No…” Shiro groaned, the last thing Allura needed was another problem to deal with. “Just get some numbing gel from the infirmary.” He tried to steady his breathing. “Besides, it’s already starting to go away.” He lied as Keith helped him sit against the wall.

“I know you’re lying, Shiro.” Keith stood up, as much as he hating having to leave his brother, he knew he needed to get him help. “I’ll go to the infirmary but afterwards we’re going to tell Allura about this.”

“F-fine…” Shiro said through gritted teeth. He watched as Keith jumped out of the Black Lion and shut his eyes. The Black Lion, sensing Shiro’s pain, shut its mouth and returned to its original position. Shiro was relieved when the pain finally did subside.

When it was finally over, he was drenched in sweat and more exhausted than he was before. For a while, he sat with his back to the wall, letting the metal cool him down. He was sure he lost consciousness at least once. He checked his ticker as was surprised to see that barely any time had passed.

He looked up and tried to stand when he heard the bay doors slide open. A familiar voice drifted up to him, he was surprised when he realized it wasn't Keith.

“It’s gonna be fine we’ll be in and out before anyone notices we’re gone.” Shiro could barely make out Lance’s voice.

He could hear Hunk and Lance speaking but as they walked further away from the Black Lion, their voices drifted away. He thought he heard Pidge among them but couldn’t be sure. A few moments later he felt his consciousness begin to fade again.

When he came to, he could hear Coran’s voice calling up to him.

* * *

Shiro’s talk with Coran and Keith both felt as if they happened a lifetime ago as he helped carry Pidge to the infirmary. Not too long ago, the Red Lion had carried a heavily damaged Green Lion into its hangar. When they finally reached Pidge and Lance, they had been badly injured and armor covered in blood.

“Don’t freak out it’s mostly Lance’s.” Pidge had told them, “He had a nosebleed again.” She clarified, though they clearly appeared shaken as Lance had drifted in and out of consciousness.

To make matters worse, Hunk was nowhere to be seen. Whatever had happened, it was clear that they had been attacked and outmatched. Allura insisted that their questions would have to wait until after they took Lance and Pidge to the infirmary to prepare them for the healing pods.

Coran and Allura had run ahead of them to begin preparations.

Shiro shifted Pidge’s weight, mindful of her broken arm, which for some reason was duct taped across their chest. The armor was badly mangled and her arm seemed to be bent at an odd angle. Pidge whimpered with every step he took. Shiro was worried the pain from his arm would return and quickened his stride. He apologized with each step they took.

“I’m sorry, we’re almost there.” Shiro reassured them as they walked to the infirmary. Keith was beside him, supporting Lance as they made their way down the long corridor. He was conscious and insisted on walking.

Blood ran down his face from a cut on his temple. When Shiro looked back to check on them, he noticed Lance’s nose had begun to bleed again.

“Ah _quiznak._ ” Lance hissed under his breath as he limped along with Keith.

“What happened to you two?” Keith questioned as he half dragged half supported Lance.

“Shit happened, Keith.” Lance muttered and pinched the bridge of his nose to stem the bleeding. “My brain is still trying to piece together exactly what happened.”

Shiro paused and looked back at them.

“Are you two alright back there?” he asked.

“Just peachy!” Lance said too cheerfully. He stumbled as he lost his footing. Keith stopped and steadied him.

“You’re going to pass out before get to the infirmary.” Keith muttered and knelt down beside him.

“What are you doing?!” Lance yelled as Keith slung him over his shoulder. His head spun as he found himself upside down. He was sure his face was dangerously close to Keith’s backside.

“You’re slowing us down.” Keith shot back before sprinting the rest of the way to the infirmary. Shiro followed closely behind them.

“Keith, as _much_ as I’d enjoy the view...” Lance voice dripped with sarcasm. “Ugh put me down I’m gonna barf.” he groaned before Keith set him down on a table. Shiro carefully placed Pidge on the one beside him. She whimpered softly, tears forming in her eyes.

“You’re going to be alright, Pidge.” Shiro said softly. He stepped aside as Coran began to carefully remove her armor. He looked at Lance, who was being looked after by Allura. Other than looking a bit green and the cut on his head, he appeared fine, but Shiro recognized the symptoms of a concussion.

“Ow! Watch it Keith!” Lance groaned when Allura touched a welt that had formed on the side of his head.

“Lance it's me.” Allura frowned.

“I-I knew that.” Lance said quickly and looked away. Keith noticed his fists were clenched tightly at his sides.

“This would go more smoothly if you stopped moving.” Allura said with a hint of annoyance. She handed Lance a cloth to wipe away the blood on his face. Lance took it and used it to wipe the blood on his hands. He could hear Pidge somewhere beside him.

 _If only I wasn’t so useless…_ He thought, if he had been more alert, things may have turned out differently.

“This may sting a little,” Coran warned Pidge before applying the numbing gel to their arm. She hissed as the cold gel stung their skin. She let out a soft sigh as the agonizing pain faded away.

“How are you feeling?” Coran asked.

“Better…” Pidge admitted. She looked away from her mangled arm and noticed Shiro standing beside them. His arms were crossed as he watched Coran work.

“Is there anything I could do to help?” he asked.

“Actually, there is.” Coran said and gestured to the scan of Pidge’s arm on the monitor. The bone was broken in several places, “I’ll need to set the bone before we can get you into the cryo suit or the healing pod won’t repair the bone properly. The gel will numb the pain but it’s not going to feel pleasant.”

“Do whatever you need to do.” Pidge took a deep breath and nodded. Shiro hesitantly placed his hand on their shoulder for support.

Lance listened as Coran set the bones in Pidge’s arm. He winced in sympathy each time Coran set the bone back into place but Pidge dealt with the pain silently. He pressed the cloth against his face, wishing he could block out the sound.

“Are we done here?” Lance asked Allura, “A couple hours in the healing pod and I’ll be as good as new.” He grimaced, his head was pounding and he felt the room spin when he tried to stand.

“You’re not going anywhere.” Allura forced him to sit back on the gurney.

“Can’t you just do the magic healing thing like before?” Lance asked, eager to leave.

“Head wounds are not as simple as a cut, Lance.” Allura explained. “I could end up causing more damage if I’m not careful.”

“You don’t understand we need to get back _now._ ” Lance tried to stand again but a glove clad hand kept him down. 

“You come back covered in blood and beaten up and you haven’t even told us _why_ you left the ship on your own in the first place!” Keith yelled. “It better have been worth it.”

“I told you! We were attacked and things got ugly.” Lance explained quickly. “And if we don’t get back then it’ll be too late for Hunk.”

“You need to tell us exactly what happened.” Allura reasoned with him.

“Hunk is why I need to go back out there _right now_.” Lance walked right into Keith, who had stepped into his path. Lance's forehead smacked into Keith’s. Maybe walking like this wasn't a good idea. Lance groaned and stumbled back.

“Hey,” Keith placed his hands on his shoulders. “Take it easy.”

Lance’s head began to pound. His headache was getting worse and he was sure his nose had begun bleeding again.

“Slow down and tell us what happened.” Keith said as he helped him back on the table.

“We found a lead on my family’s location, a Galra mining planet.” Pidge spoke up. She was already wearing their white cryosuit and a sling was wrapped around her arm. “The three of us were doing some recon on a station they had on a moon...Then we were discovered and attacked by this _insanely_ strong soldier.” She shivered at the memory.

“He broke Pidge’s arm and knocked me out.” Lance added in, “We were outmatched and forced to run but we couldn’t shake him and Hunk...he stayed behind.” His voice softened. “It was the only way Pidge and I could get away.”

“ _What?_ ” Shiro turned to Pidge, stunned. “The Galra have him?” Pidge nodded.

“It’s my fault…” she said and stared at the floor.

“No it isn’t,” Lance hissed, “If anyone is to blame it should be me. If I hadn't been completely useless, Hunk would still be here.”

“Hunk’s capture would explain the Yellow Lion’s sudden erratic behavior…” Allura said. “It must have sensed that Hunk was in danger.”

“Then why didn’t the Blue Lion do anything?” Keith pointed out.

“Who cares?!” Lance slammed his fist onto the table. “ What matters is that Hunk is on his way to a Galra prison right now!”

“If the prison is where I think it is,” Coran spoke up, typing into the holoscreen on his arm, “We may already be too late.” He expanded his holo to show them a large planet covered entirely in electric storms. “It’s a planet called Malum. Once it was the Galra’s homeworld but it was abandoned when electric storms ravaged the planet’s surface.”

Shiro furrowed his brow as he examined the holo in front of them. The name Malum felt familiar to him.

“The prisoners from my cell use to talk about Malum.” He remembered they would whisper its name as if it were a curse.

“There is nothing natural about those storms.” Allura explained, “They are the result of experiments gone wrong. Landing will prove to be a challenge.”

“The Galra have been sending prisoners down to the mines somehow so there has to be a way for us to land the Castleship.” Lance argued. He rubbed his eyes to relieve the throbbing pain.

“How are we supposed to go rescue Hunk if the ship can’t make it through that? If we can’t even land on Malum, I doubt leaving will be any easier.” Keith pointed out.

“We are _not_ abandoning him!” Lance hissed, his head was pounding even more.

“I didn’t say we would!” Keith shot back. “I’m just staying we need to come up with a plan before we go rushing in like last time.”

“I’ll send a probe to gather more information on Malum. The storms may have dissipated after 10,000 years.” Coran said, “Or they may have gotten worse...only one way to find out.”

“But first,” Allura turned to Pidge and Lance, “We need to get you two into the healing pods.”

“No,” Lance shook his head. “You need to know what happened.”

* * *

 _This is not how I imagined my day would go._ Hunk thought as sat in a dimly lit cell. It was difficult for him to see but it was clear he was not the only prisoner the Galra had.

Huddled around him were several aliens wearing rags. They were bound as he was and remained ominously quiet. They were too terrified to speak back when Hunk was thrown into the cell.

When he tried to tell them that help would come, none of them seemed to believe him, so he kept his mouth shut after that. Panicking would only agitate the other prisoners even more.

Despite his bleak situation, Hunk didn’t regret staying behind. He’d been relieved when he watched the Green Lion disappear into a wormhole and hoped that Lance and Pidge would be alright.

The ship shook violently, throwing the prisoners into each other. Hunk was thrown across the cell and cried out when his shoulder slammed into the wall.

“Ow…” Hunk groaned as he found himself crushed at the bottom of a pile of prisoners. He struggled to free himself free. “Is everyone alright?” He was met with groans as the prisoners pulled themselves up.

“How did I get myself into this? Oh right because no one ever listens to me.” Hunk muttered and leaned up against the wall. His helmet and bayard were long gone but at least he was still wearing his armor. The prisoner’s rags did little to protect them from the turbulence.

“They’re taking us through the storm!” one of the prisoners cried. With nothing to brace themselves with, they held onto Hunk as the ship shook more violently than before.

“Just hold on guys, we’ll get through this.” Hunk forced himself to remain calm.

If he made it out alive, he was going to eat an entire batch of peanut butter food goo.

* * *

“Should we really be doing this?” Hunk asked as he walked past the Black Lion with Pidge and Lance. “What if we get caught?” He couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t alone in the hangar. Maybe it was the Lions he was sensing.

“It’ll be fine.” Lance reasoned, “We’ll be in and out before anyone even realizes we’re gone.”

“With this we may not even have to leave the Green Lion.” Pidge held up a small silver orb. Hunk and Lance leaned in closer to get a better look. Its surface was smooth, save for the creases that ran around it. It was about the size of a marble.

“What does it do?” Lance asked. It didn’t look very useful. 

“It’s a bug.” Pidge grinned, though it seemed that she knew more than she let on. “Say hello to Glitch.”

Lance jumped away when the metal orb in Pidge’s palm moved and changed into a spider-like robot.

“A little warning Pidge!” Lance shouted and hid behind Hunk, startling him. He’d nearly forgotten about Lance’s arachnophobia. 

“I didn’t know you were afraid of spiders.” Pidge smirked. “Don’t worry he doesn’t bite. Not humans anyway.”

“I’m...not fond of them. There's a difference!” Lance argued.

Glitch crawled along Pidge's arm to rest on her shoulder. It’s antenna like sensors twitched as if in greeting.

“Awww it’s kinda cute.” Hunk gently poked the tiny robot, which crawled onto his hand.

“So how is this thing supposed to help us?” Lance eyed it wearily.

“If we find a base we can send Glitch in so we can access the Galra’s database.” Pidge grabbed Glitch and placed it into her bag.

“I thought we needed Galra tech to connect with their database.” Lance pointed out.

“I mimicked their technology so the system will think Glitch is one of their drones.” Pidge explained. “That way we won’t run the risk of getting caught. At least I hope so… I haven’t had a chance to test it yet.”

“I still have a bad feeling about this...We should at least tell Allura where we’re headed.” Hunk was met with blank stares. “Or leave a note?”

“If we tell Allura she’ll keep us from going.” Pidge said. “Or have us bring Keith...”

“And Shiro’s been MIA for 2 days.” Lance pointed out, “We have to deal with this ourselves to see if it’s a real lead or a waste of time.”

“We should get going then.” Pidge said. The Green Lion knelt down to them.

Hunk sighed as they followed Pidge inside and turned to look back at the hangar. The remaining Lions stood silently. He turned his attention to the Yellow Lion.

“Hold up the fort while we’re gone.” He said before walking up the ramp to join Pidge and Lance. He couldn’t help but feel that they wouldn’t be returning for a long time.

 

* * *

 

Without a wormhole to take them to their destination, they had to rely on the Green Lion to fly them to the planet’s coordinates. Pidge stared at the monitors with a look of determination in her eyes. She was worried about what they might find.

“We should be arriving soon,” Pidge looked up at their companions. “Green said we’re about to get out of the hyperjump. We’re heading to a planet called Malum.” 

Moments later, they found themselves in front of a large planet. A single moon orbited it while debris floated around them.

“Whoa…” Lance stared at the large planet before them. Any land or sea was hidden by dark clouds that covered the entire planet. The clouds flickered as lightning crackled through them.

“Is that all one big storm?” Hunk asked as they gaped at the planet. 

“My scans say that it covers the entire planet.” Pidge said, the Green Lion’s scanners were off the charts. She doubted the Green Lion could travel through the storms safely, even with her shield. “The storm must have been what was causing the interference.”

“Then the Galra should be around here somewhere.” Lance said. “What about that moon?” He pointed to the monitor. “It’s the only other thing out here, maybe they’re stationed there.”

Pidge carefully flew down to hide the Green Lion in the shadow of a large crater. Once they landed, they powered down the Green Lion’s cloaking.

“Yay we managed to land without anyone shooting at us, good job guys.” Hunk said.

“I picked up something south of our location. I think it’ll be a good idea to take the speeder so we don’t attract any attention.” Pidge said. With that, they followed Pidge. There was no going back now.

* * *

 

 

As it turned out, taking the speeder was not as a great idea as they thought. Figuring out how to pile the three of them onto the speeder had proved to be a challenge.

“Is anyone getting flashbacks to when we all climbed onto Keith’s hoverbike? ‘Cos I am.” Hunk muttered as he tried to make himself more comfortable in the front of Pidge’s speeder, which was unfortunately much smaller than his own.

“Hey at least we aren’t being chased this time.” Pidge pointed out as they maneuvered around countless craters.

“Don’t jinx it!” Hunk warned them. He could still see Malum’s raging storms from where he was seated. The planet made him feel uneasy. He did not want to see what the surface was like.

“At least you’re not hanging off the end of this thing!” Lance complained as he hung onto the back of Pidge’s seat. The soles of his boots were magnetized to the sides of the speeder but it didn’t stop him from imagining what would happen if he slipped.

“H-how much longer until we get there?” Lance was eager to touch solid ground again.

“We’re almost there.” Pidge answered calmly. Soon they approached a large crater, at the base of it was a large station. Pidge jumped out and made her way to the edge as Lance and Hunk slid off the speeder.

“Okay I’m driving on the way back.” Lance groaned as he popped his neck. “I wouldn’t have had to hang off the end if you just let me sit in the speeder with you.” he complained and crouched down beside Pidge.

“I was _not_ going to sit in your lap for the entire ride.” Pidge hissed under her breath and hid the blush covering her face.

“Have you ever had to fit 15 people in a 8 person car? Trust me this would have been a whole lot better.” Lance muttered, he remembered having to carry Lola and Julio on his lap on several family outings. His legs would always be asleep by the time they reached their destination. Carrying Pidge would have been nothing.

“Oh the woes of having a large family.” Hunk said as he joined them at the edge. The thought of his family jabbed at his heart. He shook his head so he could focus on their current objective.

“So now what do we do?” Hunk asked. Pidge was examining the station with their visor. They could see at least one ship docked and drones guarding the perimeter.

“I’ll send in Glitch and his buddies.” Pidge as as she pulled out a small bag from her subspace pocket. “I brought more so we can cover more ground.” She held up a handful of silver orbs and tossed them down the slope.

“There they go.” Lance watched as the orbs drifted down the side of the crater. He lost sight of them before they reached the bottom. He looked to Pidge. “You think they’ll find a way inside?”

Pidge nodded and pointed to a drone that was entering the station. “One of them latched onto that drone.”

“How long until we know one of them reach the command center?” Hunk asked.

“We’ll know soon enough.” Pidge answered and kept track of Glitch’s movements as well as the rest of his brethren.

While they waited, Lance collected several moon rocks. He examined them before slipping a couple into his subspace.

“What are those for?” Hunk asked.

“Oh…” Lance rubbed the back of his neck, “I thought I should bring my siblings some souvenirs.” He had collected quite a few nik naks from the planets they visited. He had a couple of Arusan dolls, small crystals Shay had given the team from the Balmera and now moon rocks.

“Ohhh.” Hunk said, “Maybe I should find something cool for Kalea and Lulu…” The last time he had spoken to them was during a video call the morning before Shiro’s escape pod landed in the desert.

“I’ll let you have the dolls the Arusans gave me.” Lance smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You have little Arusan dolls?” Hunk gasped, he remembered seeing them during their time in the village. Maybe he could also make his family some space peanut butter.

“Guys, Glitch made it to the command center.” Pidge interrupted them. Lance and Hunk crowded around her screen. “He made it in without any guards or the system detecting him.” She let out a breath, relieved that nothing had gone wrong.

“What do all these numbers mean?” Hunk asked. Pidge’s screen was filled with a long line of numbers that made little sense to him. They were too short to be coordinates and he doubted that they were phone numbers. They were moving too fast across the screen for Hunk to keep track of.

“I’m not sure.” Pidge said as she analyzed the data. “It looks like some kind of list but I’m not sure for what…”

“Could it be a prisoner manifest?” Lance asked. “Shiro told us that all the prisoners were numbered, that’s how the Galra busted him and Allura on their ship.”

“If it is, then that’s a lot of prisoners…” Hunk noted as the numbers continues to fill the screen. “How will we know which ones belong to your family?”

“They’re probably a part of the same batch of prisoners Shiro was in.” Pidge struggled to remember Shiro’s and shook their head. “I think the batch number was 117 but I can’t remember the rest.”

“We’ll need to download it and bring it back for Shiro to look at.” Lance said.

“Where do you think the Galra are keeping all these prisoners?” Hunk wondered out loud. The three of them turned to look Malum. “You gotta be kidding me.”

“It’s the only other planet in this system that can support life.” Pidge explained. “The location of this base can’t be a coincidence.”

Her screen beeped when the download was complete. Pidge sent out a signal for the Glitches to return. Just as it was sent, the station’s alarms went off.

“Aw quiznak.” Pidge could see drones moving about the hangar. “They’re about to send out their jets.”

“Guys, I think that’s our cue to leave.” Lance jumped to his feet and pulled Pidge up. “They must have found one of the bugs and raised the alarm. We need to leave before they find us.”

“But what about all the little Glitches?” Hunk asked as he followed them back to the speeder.

“There’s no time to get them.” Pidge turned back to him, it pained her to leave Glitch behind but they needed to return to the Green Lion before they were discovered. A shadow fell over her as her reached the speeder.

“Pidge!” Lance cried out and activated his bayard. 

Pidge turned in time to see an armor clad figure standing on her speeder, a large scythe in hand. Lance rushed forward and yanked her out of the way just as the blade pierced the ground where she was standing.

Hunk activated his bayard as Lance and Pidge dove for cover and took aim. The Galra easily dodged his attack and deflected the rest with his shield.

“I thought I smelled a rat.” The Galra growled. He held up Glitch and crushed him before tossing him to Pidge’s feet. Pidge stared down at the shattered remains and glared up at his darkened visor.

“I’ve seen you before…” Pidge said as she rose to her feet. He was the same masked soldier who stood beside Zarkon in the Gladiator arena.

 _What is he doing all the way out here?!_ Lance thought, reaching the same conclusion. He pointed his bayard at the Galra and moved beside Pidge.

“You’re outnumbered so get out of our way.” Lance said, though something told him that it wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

“I do not take orders from children.” he replied and lunged at Lance with his scythe. Lance barely blocked the attack with his shield and was knocked to the ground.

“I am Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire.”

“The _Prince_ of the-?!” Hunk sputtered. “We are _so dead._ ”

Pidge activated her bayard and looked to Hunk.

“Prince or no prince, we need to get back to Green before reinforcements arrive.” Pidge whipped her grapple towards Lotor. He grabbed the cable with ease. Electricity coursed through it and screamed before yanking the cable. Pidge cried out and landed painfully in a crater.

 _So much for being in and out before we were noticed._ Hunk thought miserably as he and Lance shot at Lotor.

Hunk knew this guy was trouble. Not only was he Prince of the Galra, his weapon was a _scythe_ of all things. Though, there was something about it felt familiar about it but he couldn’t place it until he blocked Lotor’s attack and saw the weapon’s grip.

“ _Guys._ ” Hunk said, switching onto their private comm. “ _I think that guy is holding the Black Bayard._ ”

“ _What?_ ” Lance responded as he shot at Lotor, “ _Doesn’t Zarkon have it?_ ”

“ _I don't know why don't you ask his son._ ” Hunk explained as he rolled to dodge the scythe’s blade. “ _I think this scythe is the_   _black bayard, just look at it!”_

Pidge, still hidden in the crater, sent out a decoy before cloaking herself. She quickly made their way to the speeder while Lotor was distracted and began powering it up. Her pulse raced as she tried to send out a distress signal to the Green Lion.

 _Why isn’t it working?!_ Pidge thought. The storms from Malum was likely interfering with their long range communications.  

Pidge cried out as she was pulled out of the speeder, her arm nearly yanked out of its socket.

“Pidge!” Lance yelled. He and Hunk watched as Lotor held Pidge by their arm.

“You cannot fool me with your tricks, human.” Lotor said. "I can sense your quintessence."

“Put me down!” Pidge struggled in his grip before landing a solid blow to Lotor’s face. At first, it seemed to startle him more than anything until his expression seemed to darken.

“You will regret that, child.” Lotor said ominously calm.

Light shined through his helmet as he turned to look at Pidge. She caught a glimpse of a pair of golden eyes before she felt something snap. Pidge could hear Lance and Hunk screaming, she couldn’t hear what they were saying over her own screams.

Agony tore through her arm as she was thrown to the ground.

“GET AWAY FROM HER.” Lance screamed as he rushed towards Lotor. He blocked a swing from his scythe and led Lotor away from the speeder. Hunk scooped up Pidge and lifted her into the seat.

“Everything’s gonna be alright.” Hunk repeated over and over to keep himself from panicking. Who was he kidding, he was panicking. He examined Pidge’s arm, the armor was mangled and damaged but it didn’t look as if it had been pierced.

“Pidge can you hear me?” Hunk asked, placing his hands on either side of her helmet. “Do you have anything I can use to make sure your arm doesn’t move?”

“Under...under the seat.” Pidge whimpered as she hugged her arm to her chest.

“Okay got it.” Hunk leaned into the speeder and found a roll of duct tape. He wasn’t sure why Pidge had it under the seat but didn’t complain. He kept an eye on Lance while he taped Pidge’s broken arm to her chestpiece.

“I-I can’t contact... the others.” Pidge said through gritted teeth. “We...need to get back.” She could see Lance taking on Lotor. His moves were sloppy as if they were fueled by rage.

“Can you pilot this thing with one hand?” Hunk asked, not sure if he would be able to fit in the seat,

“It...has autopilot.” Pidge groaned. She fumbled with the controls but she worked through the pain. “Go get Lance.”

“Lance!” Hunk called out, “We need to leave _now._ ”

“I’m a bit busy right now!” Lance replied, blocking each blow before firing several rounds at Lotor. “You’re gonna pay for what you did to Pidge!”

He rolled away in time to dodge a blow. Lotor advanced on him. He was toying him and it only fueled Lance’s anger.

“Humans capabilities always amaze me.” Lotor said, “Your emotions fuel you, allowing you to perform impossible feats.”

Lance jumped to avoid the scythe, its blade left a long gash on his chestpiece. He stumbled back before regaining his footing. His gun was virtually useless this close range and Lotor kept him boxed in with his scythe. His shield was the only reason he wasn’t dead yet, but even that wasn’t going to last.

“There was another human.” Lotor seemed to grin, “He was thrown into the Gladiator as I was and quickly rose through the ranks.” 

 _Shiro…_ Lance ducked into a crater. He panted as he tried to catch his breath. He needed to keep Lotor away from the others. He rose out of the crater and fired at Lotor. He deflected it easily with his scythe.

“Why do you have the Black Bayard?!” Lance demanded, but he was ignored.

“I believe he went by the name _Champion._ ” he hissed the name. “And compared to him you are _weak_ .”   _  
_

Lance cried out as he was thrown to the ground, his bayard skidded out of reach

“Lance stay down!” Hunk called out. Lance pressed himself to the ground as Hunk unleashed a volley of fire on Lotor. The blasts knocked him back a few feet but he remained standing.

“Get over here!” Pidge called out, her voice ragged with pain. “ _Now!_ ”

“I’m coming!” Lance scrambled to his knees and scanned the area for his bayard. It had fallen into a crater nearby. He reached to grab it when Hunk and Pidge called out his name.

“ _Lance!_ ”

Lotor stood over him, scythe raised above his head. Lance raised his shield moments before it struck him.   

Hunk watched in horror as the force of Lotor’s blow sent Lance flying. Pidge winced as Lance’s head slammed into the speeder, causing them to rock. Hunk reached down and grabbed Lance. He threw him into the seat with Pidge.

“Get us _out of here_.” Hunk activated his bayard and fired at Lotor.

Pidge hit the autopilot, getting them further and further away. Lotor knelt to the ground and picked up the blue bayard. He deactivated his scythe and attached it to his belt.

Pidge turned to Lance, who was slumped in the seat, his head lolled to one side.

“Please tell me he’s not dead.” Hunk pleaded as he continued to shoot behind them.

“Lance?” Pidge touched his helmet. When they lifted his head, they could see a large crack had formed across his visor. “ _Quiznak.”_

“What? What’s wrong?!” Hunk asked, alarmed.

“His helmet was damaged.” Pidge rummaged through the cockpit. “Where did you put that duct tape?!”

“I tossed it back under the seat!” Hunk shifted his weight, altering the speeder’s course. “He’s chasing us!” he warned them.

“As if we don’t have enough problems!” Pidge said bitterly. She finally found the roll and fumbled with it. She tore a strip off with her teeth before smacking it over the crack on Lance’s visor. Once she was satisfied that it was sealed, she turned their attention to Hunk.

“Lance left his bayard!”

“I know!” Hunk replied and raised his shield to block, “He’s shooting at us with it!”

“What?!” Pidge looked over the seat and ducked to avoid a blast from Lance’s bayard. It hit the speeder, causing them to shake violently. It seemed a lot stronger than before.

“Stay down!” Hunk called to them and brought up their shield. “How much longer until we get to the Green Lion?" Lance groaned beside Pidge.

“Lola...Julio...keep it down…” Lance muttered, his words slurred together.

“Lance! You’re awake!” Pidge exclaimed.

“Ah quiznak…” Lance groaned and moved his hand to wipe his nose, only to be stopped by his helmet. Pidge noticed that his nose had begun to bleed but there was nothing they could about it until they returned to the Green Lion.

His head was killing him, he couldn’t quite remember why. He could hear Pidge and Hunk talking to him or was it Lola and Julio? He wasn’t sure.

“We’re almost there.” Pidge said.

Lance shook his head but it only seemed to make his headache worse. He slowly started piecing his memories back together. They were back on the speeder and it sounded like a psychopath was chasing them.

 _Lovely_ Lance thought. He blinked his eyes a few times. He had no idea when it got so dark. He couldn’t see past his own nose.

“Why...is it so dark?” Lance squinted, his headache was getting worse.

“What are you talking about?” Pidge asked, looking into his blank eyes. They waved their hand into his face. “Lance?”

“What?” he asked, somewhat annoyed.

“N-nothing.” Pidge said, “It’s probably the tape I used to fix your helmet that’s blocking out the light.” she lied and looked up at Hunk with a worried expression.

“We’re gonna make it back, buddy.” Hunk said, forcing a smile. “Just rest for now.”

As much as Lance wanted to close his eyes and sleep, he couldn’t help but feel he was forgetting something important. He reached for his subspace and panicked when his bayard didn’t materialize in his hand.

“Where’s my bayard?” Lance asked, alarmed.

“We’ll worry about it later.” Pidge said, forcing Lance to stay down. She nearly fell over when the speeder rocked violently. When she regained her footing, Hunk screamed.

Lotor stood over them. The blue bayard was in his hand, now in the form of a sniper rifle. He deactivated the blue bayard before clipping it to his belt and reached for the black bayard.

“What was that?!” Lance exclaimed. The speeder veered off course. He heard both Pidge and Hunk screaming. Whatever it was it couldn’t be good.

“I tire of this game.” Lotor said as he raised the black bayard to Hunk, who stood frozen in fear.

“Hunk to your left!” Pidge called, raising her bayard. It shot towards Lotor, who dodged the cable easily.

“Did you really believe that would work a second time?” Lotor laughed.

“Nope.” Pidge said before yanking the cable back, the end hooking onto Lotor's ankle. “But that did.” She yanked the cable again, throwing him off balance. Lotor grabbed Hunk’s ankle as he clung to the side of the speeder. Hunk tried in vain to shake him off.

“If I go, you’re coming with me.” Lotor hissed, tightening his grip.

Hunk screamed as he felt the bones in his ankle slowly being crushed. He looked back to Pidge, who aimed their bayard at Lotor once again.

“Pidge!” he called to them. “He’s just going to keep coming after us at this rate.” He winced as Lotor’s grip tightened. “Take care of Lance and warn the others!” he said before tossing Pidge his bayard.

“Hunk what are you-” Lance began. “Pidge, what's going on?!” He clawed at the tape over his helmet but couldn’t get a grip of it.

"Hunk don't-!" Pidge yelled and reached for him but it was too late.

She watched as Hunk jumped off the speeder, taking Lotor with him. She looked back to see the two crash onto the crater filled surface and roll until finally coming to a stop.

“Hunk I am coming back for you!” Pidge yelled into the comm and struggled to remove the auto pilot.

 _“No! There’s no time to come back for me!”_ Hunk groaned as he rose to his feet. Everything hurt but at least he could still stand. _“Neither of you can fight and reinforcements will be here any minute!”_

“Turn us around, Pidge. We still have time!” Lance argued.

 _“No...we don’t.”_ Hunk said softly. He could see Galran jets heading towards the Green Lion. _“You need to get back before they reach the Green Lion or it's all over.”_

“Hunk…” tears formed in Pidge’s eyes.

“It’s going to be alright.” Hunk smiled. Behind him, Lotor rose to his feet, the black bayard in hand.

“Hunk we are _not_ leaving you!” Lance yelled. He began coughing violently. He could hear a warning flash across his screen. “ _Shit..._ not now...I think my suit is running low on oxygen.”

“We don’t have a choice.” Pidge said softly. “We can’t let the Galra capture the Green Lion too. And you're going to suffocate if we don't get back now.”

“Pidge I’m _fine_.” Lance wheezed, “We need...to go back for Hunk...” He slumped back into the seat as everything faded away.

“Lance?!” Pidge shook his shoulder. She sighed when she realized he had only passed out. She reluctantly turned on her communicator. “We’ll be back for you Hunk....I promise.” 

“Don’t worry...I’ll find your family for you, Pidge.” Hunk smiled and shut off his comm. He turned his attention back to Lotor.

“You’re not as dumb as you look, human.” His helmet had cracked, revealing a single golden eye and half of his face. Despite his helmet being damaged, he showed no signs of suffocating. Unarmed, Hunk took a step back and watched as Lotor removed his fractured helmet.

He was having second thoughts about not keeping his bayard.

 

* * *

 

Pidge wasn’t sure how they managed to return to the Green Lion in one piece or how she avoided the jets firing at them. For the moment, the shields were the only thing protecting them from the bombardment.

“Where’s Hunk?” Lance groaned as he struggled to sit up. “Please tell me you went back for him.”

“Lance...I’m sorry-” Pidge began.

“No!” Lance yelled. He gripped his helmet and struggled to pull it off. “We can still go back!”

“No, we can’t!” Pidge argued, “We can’t save Hunk on our own...”

“But-”

“My arm is broken and you can’t even see!” Pidge’s voice cracked as tears filled her eyes. “And I don’t even know if I can pilot the Green Lion like this…”

“What…?” Lance blinked. “But you said…” He shook his head and yanked off his helmet. Pain shot through his head and he felt something drip down his face. He brought his hand to his face and it came away wet. He was sure it was blood but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t see it.

Lance rubbed his eyes but everything was as dark as before.

“Oh nonononono, no, NO!” Lance threw his helmet across the room. It had to be a mistake. Hitting his head couldn’t blind him, right? He tugged at his hair, unable to stop the panic that was building up inside of him. He couldn’t see and his bayard was long gone, at this rate he would just slow everyone down.

“Lance, calm down. Everything will be alright once we get back to the ship-”

“No, it won’t!” Lance cried, “How am I supposed to go back for Hunk if I can’t even see?!” His head felt as if it was about to split open. He felt Pidge’s small hand on his shoulder.

“Lance, right now we need to worry about ourselves. If we don’t get in contact with the others, they’ll have no idea where we went or what kind of danger we’re in.” Pidge explained, feeling strangely calm despite of the fire raining down on them. “Once we make it back, the healing pods will patch us up and we can go rescue Hunk with everyone.”

Lance considered her words and took a deep breath to calm himself. He’d nearly forgotten about the healing pods. Panicking wasn’t going to help anyone, especially Hunk.

“You’re arm…” he said, “How are we going to get out of here?”

“I’ll have to make due with one hand.” She winced as the Green Lion shook from the blasts.

“I’ll pilot and you guide me.” Lance suddenly said.

“ _What?”_ Lance must have hit his head harder than she thought. “You can’t pilot the Green Lion. You’re only compatible with the Blue Lion and on top of that you nearly suffocated, you probably have a concussion, and you can’t see.”

“Then you’ll have to be my eyes.” Lance said as he rose to his feet, he knew it was an insane idea, but what other choice did they have?

The Green Lion roared loudly, rattling Lance’s bones. He pressed his hand to his forehead. Pidge wrapped their arm around him to help steady him.

“Lance, I think the Green Lion agrees with your plan.” Pidge said. “She has an idea.”

 

When Lance was in the Blue Lion, flying had felt so natural and liberating. As one, they would flow around the battlefield as if they were made of liquid. Piloting the Green Lion turned out to be a completely different experience.

It felt as if he were electricity moving along a circuit board, branching out in all directions and there was _so much math_. He had no idea how Pidge could stand all the numbers constantly floating around her head like this.

At least he wasn’t flying completely blind anymore. The moment Lance sat in the pilot seat, it had felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. When he came back to his senses, he could _see_ the Green Lion’s shields in front of him as it was struck by enemy fire.

“You can see through the Green Lion’s eyes?” Pidge felt cheated. It had taken her months to finally figure out that technique.

While Lance piloted, Pidge was seated on his lap, struggling to send out a distress signal to the Castleship. It was difficult to do with only one arm.

“Allura! Coran! Anybody!” Pidge cried out desperately. She hit the side of the chair in frustration when she heard nothing but static. Malum was still interfering with their communications.

“Have you gotten in contact with Allura yet?” Lance winced as the Green Lion shook violently.

“Does it _look_ like I have?” Pidge snapped. Lance gave them a deadpan expression. “Oh...right…sorry...”

“Just keep trying. I don’t know how long I can keep this up.” Lance’s headache was only getting worse. Pidge was worried that he would pass out again.

 _“Pidge?”_ Allura’s voice broke came from the screen, _“Where are you? Are you alright?”_

No, they were certainly _not_ alright but Pidge couldn’t have been happier to hear Allura’s voice.

 _“It’s Hunk,” She_  sobbed. _“We had to…”_

 _“What? What happened?”_ Allura, they could hear Shiro and Keith’s voices in the background but couldn't make out what they were saying.

“We need a wormhole _now_.” Lance groaned.

 _“There’s no time to explain!”_ Pidge told Allura, they clung onto Lance as he spun the Green Lion to avoid several shots.

Allura’s face appeared on the screen moments later.

 _“We’ve found your location and we’ll be opening a wormhole shortly.”_ She gasped when she saw the both of them. _“Goddess, what happened to you two?”_  

 _“The Galra are after us and we’re barely outrunning them_.” Pidge grimaced as the Green Lion was struck.

“Sorry!” Lance struggled to level them.

 _“Lance? Are you_ piloting _the Green Lion?”_ Allura exclaimed.

 _“It’s a long story.”_ Lance said as he turned the Green Lion to face their pursuers. “Pidge can’t pilot right now so Green here made an exception.” The Green Lion roared as she blasted a line of jets but more appeared to take their place.

"We're preparing a wormhole for you to return, pinpointing your location now!" Coran appeared on the opposite screen, beside him stood Keith and Shiro.

 _“Lance what's wrong with your eyes?”_ Allura asked, noticing his irises were glowing bright green.

 _"We'll explain later!"_ Pidge yelled, "We've got more incoming."

“Where are they?” Shiro turned to Allura, “We can get to them and provide them some cover fire.”

 _“No!”_ Pidge and Lance screamed at once. “We already lost Hunk, we are not losing anyone else!” Lance groaned, his temple throbbed painfully.

 _“Where is Hunk?”_ Allura asked and realized he wasn’t with them.

"We need that wormhole!" Lance winced, all the spinning did little to improve his headache.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Pidge yelled. The Green Lion dodged the blasts before unleashing its own attack, destroying the ships behind them.

"They're gaining on us!" Pidge warned them.

 _"The wormhole should be opening up now."_ Allura replied.

“We’re gonna make it Pidge,” Lance wished he hadn’t said anything.

As they entered the wormhole, everything turned white. Lance could hear Pidge screaming and he was sure he was also screaming. His vision blacked out.

They could hear the Green Lion’s screams echoing in their minds.

* * *

Neither Pidge or Lance knew what happened until the Green Lion was carried back to the castleship. The Galra had fired their ion cannon on them just as they were entering the wormhole. Unable to avoid the blast, the Green Lion had taken heavy damage. Everything after that had been a blur.

Pidge remembered Lance holding onto her. The Green Lion had gone completely dark. Keith and Shiro had been standing in front of them. They had seen what happened and gone out with their Lions to bring them back to the ship.

“So let me get this straight.” Keith turned to Lance, “You nearly died _multiple times_ and somehow managed to pilot the Green Lion on your own.”

“I’m as surprised as you are.” Lance said, he hoped the Green Lion was okay. It had taken the brunt of the damage before they made it through the wormhole.

“And the Yellow Lion moved on it’s own and nearly spaced you guys.” Pidge said. They weren’t sure who had the weirder day.

“And this guy who attacked you,” Shiro said, “You said his name was Lotor?”

“It sounded like he knew you, Shiro.” Lance said as he placed a cold compress to his head. His headache had gone down but everything still ached.

“I can’t remember his face but I’ve had flashes of memories.” Shiro said, placing a hand on the scar across his face.

“I suspected he may have still been alive.” Allura sighed, “We once knew each other when we were children, though it’s clear that he’s changed a great deal after all this time.” She couldn’t help but remember the young boy who spent long afternoons picking berries.

“Zarkon had experimented on his sons before they were born. His strength and speed are likely a result of that.” Coran said. He could still remember the day Allura first met them.

“No wonder fighting him felt like taking on 100 Robeasts…” Lance muttered. “He took my bayard and now he has Hunk.” He pulled out Hunk’s bayard and gripped it tightly. It should have been him. If he hadn’t been completely useless then none of it would have ever happened.  

“I think that’s enough for now.” Allura placed her hand on his shoulder, “We’ll take care of everything while you and Pidge recover.”

“Alright…” Lance sighed and handed the bayard to Allura.

“We’ll look through the data you retrieved.” Coran said and lifted Pidge's arm piece.

“Alright.” Pidge nodded. She took Lance’s arm and guided him out of the infirmary.

“Oh no,” Keith said, “You’re not walking out of here.” He lifted Lance into his arms before he could protest.

“Keith put me down!” Lance yelled.

“Just think of it as a bonding moment.” Keith muttered under his breath. He gave Shiro one last look before leaving the room with Lance. Pidge moved to follow them.

“Pidge,” Shiro called out, he'd wanted to speak to her since the incident, he needed to let her know that what happened wasn't her fault. When she looked back, he found himself unsure of what to say. “I’ll...come to you if we find anything…”

“Oh...okay.” Pidge said. She followed Keith and Lance, the latter still insisting that he was perfectly capable of walking on his own. Shiro watched as the doors slid closed behind them.

Allura sighed and rubbed her temple. This day had turned out to be a disaster. She hoped that they information Pidge retrieved would yield useful information.

“Is there anything I could do to help?” Shiro asked. As tempted as she was to ask for his help, Allura couldn’t burden him.

“No...I need to be alone to collect my thoughts.” she replied. She needed to remain strong for everyone. Shiro opened his mouth as if to say something before changing his mind. He didn’t need to give her anything else to worry about.

“I’ll go help Coran with that data.” He said before leaving the room.

Once everyone was gone, Allura placed her hands over her face. In that moment she felt like a terrified child. After everything that has happened, she couldn’t believe that there was one more surviving Altean beside Coran and herself. All these years, she believed that Lotor had died during the war. 

She pulled out the amulet she wore around her neck and brought up a small holo. It was taken when she was a young girl. Beside her stood two boys with the same golden eyes and white hair.

“Oh Shion…I’d forgotten about you all this time.” Allura whispered softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEHEH
> 
> I apologize again for how long this chapter took. Lotor has appeared and he will be playing a key role in the plot. Overall, everyone has had a bad day but hopefully things will turn around soon. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll try to get the next one finished hopefully by mid December. ^^


	5. Left Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has a bad time and Hunk arrives on Malum. New characters will be introduced and the return of an old one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I kind of ended up doing nothing all winter break then I decided to wait for season 2 to come out before I kept writing. Amazingly the finale was somehow able to outdo the first one. Future chapters will have spoilers for season 2 but this one should be spoiler free. Also! special thanks to Faerybound and kawaiirun for betaing!

_Lance decided that pain was overrated. He was lying on the ground; every inch of him hurt. He could tell that he was on his back. His eyes were open, but all he could see was darkness._

_Lightning illuminated the skies, blinding him for a moment. He threw his arm over his face to block out the light, his head pounding. Dark clouds rolled over him and thunder pierced his ear drums with each strike, making his headache unbearable. Every breath felt like a knife twisting in his chest._

_‘Okay...I have several choices: lay here and hope I don’t get fried by lightning or get up and try to find some cover and hope I don’t get fried in the process.’ They weren’t the best options, but he needed to decide fast._

_Lance forced himself to sit up- bad idea. Spots filled his vision and his muscles screamed. He decided moving would only make the pain worse and stayed where he was. Lightning only hit the highest points; if he laid low he might not get fried at all._

_“At least you can see…” Lance muttered to himself and pressed a hand to his helmet. Cracks filled his visor but it didn’t appear to be leaking oxygen. Lightning flashed through his fingers, followed by a deafening boom before everything fell silent again. If he wasn’t in so much pain, Lance would have thought the storm was amazing._

_Another flash, boom, followed by silence. Something sounded different about that last one but he couldn’t figure out why it sounded familiar. A groan filled his comm, followed by another boom._

_‘Gunfire.’ Lance realized he wasn’t alone. He scrambled to his feet; his body protested as he reached for his bayard at his side, but it failed to materialize in his hand._

_“Where is it?!” Lance hissed. It was nowhere in sight. He froze when lightning lit up the area around him._

_Lying a few feet away from him in a crumpled heap was Hunk. Cracks spider webbed from the hole on his helmet and his armor was riddled in holes._

_A shadowed figure stood over him. Lance’s bayard hung loosely in their hand, smoke trailing from the barrel._

_“Hunk!” Lance screamed, unable to move. Tears filled his eyes, blurring his vision. This couldn’t be happening. Hunk remained unresponsive: the pool of blood around his head grew larger and larger._

‘Too much blood....Too much…’

_“You humans die so easily.” Lotor turned to face Lance. “This one was a fighter.”_

_Tears streamed down Lance’s face; he couldn’t look away. Nothing made sense anymore. Hunk couldn’t be dead._

_Lotor tossed the bayard to his feet.  “Take it, prove to me that you are worthy.”_

_Lance stared blankly at his bayard. Blood dripped from the handle as he lifted it from the ground. He struggled to raise it and his hands trembled as he took aim._

_Lotor activated the black bayard: rain poured from the skies and mixed with Hunk’s blood. Within moments, they were drenched. Even with Lance’s armor, it felt like ice cold daggers were piercing into his skin._

_Lance pulled the trigger, or tried to, but nothing happened. Panic filled him but his body would not respond._

_“You can’t do it.” Lotor stated, a hint of sympathy in his voice. Lightning flashed and he stood inches from Lance._

_Lotor reached out and placed a gloved hand on the side of his helmet, an almost tender gesture. If Lance wasn’t terrified out of his mind, he would have smacked his hand away._

_After a moment, Lotor stepped away. Light glinted off of the bayard’s blade as he rose it over his head._

_“My dear Lance, it’s goodbye to you forever,” Lotor sneered and brought down his scythe._

 

* * *

 

Lance screamed. Something hard collided with his fist as he struggled to separate the nightmare from reality. He couldn’t stop screaming, and when he tried to stand, he collapsed. Someone or something was holding him down.

“Lance!” Keith’s voice sliced through the fog. “You’re safe! You’re back on the ship, no one is going to hurt you! _Lance!”_

Bony hands dug into his shoulders. Lance forced himself to take deep breaths and waited for his vision to clear. Keith leaned over him, his face inches from his. He was close enough that Lance could see the light flecks of blue in his eyes.

“Lance, are you alright? How are your eyes? Can you see?” Keith pulled Lance into a sitting position once he appeared to calm down.

“I’ve _never_ been so happy to see your stupid mullet.” Lance laughed breathlessly and pressed his forehead against Keith’s shoulder, wrapping his arms around him. Keith sighed in relief and patted Lance on his back.

“Bad dream?” he guessed.

“Something like that.” Lance took a deep breath and pulled away. “What happened while I was out?”

“I was on watch when you fell out of your pod and wouldn’t wake up,” Keith explained. “Nothing I did could get you to snap out of it.”

Lance hugged his legs to his chest. He was relieved when moving didn’t hurt as much as it did in the nightmare. He pushed the memory aside; he would rather not think about what happened.

“You nailed me in the face when you finally woke up.” Keith wiped his nose against his sleeve, blood smeared across his cheek.

“Oh my god, Keith. I am so sorry!” Lance looked around for anything to stop the bleeding but found nothing. This was the second time he had punched Keith this week. _‘Quiznak, I haven’t even apologized for the first time!_ ’

“Don’t worry about it.” Keith pinched his nose. “It was an accident.”

“I’m sorry…” Lance said.

“I said it was fine,” Keith muttered and gave up on stopping the bleeding. “My nose isn’t broken or anything.”

“No, I’m sorry for punching you the other day. I was an idiot and I let my anger get the best of me. I’m also sorry about shoving that purple goo down your-.”

“You know, I was trying to forget about that goo incident. Thanks for reminding me. But…” Keith sighed, “Apology accepted. I was being an idiot too...After everything that’s happened, it doesn’t really seem like it matters anyways,” Keith admitted, looking away.

Silence fell between them.

“How are you feeling?” Keith finally asked.

“Better than I did before.” His head didn’t feel as if it was about to split open. “Where’s everyone else?” Lance asked. He could see Pidge in her pod, blissfully unaware of the horrors of reality.

“Allura brought us closer to Malum, and she’s trying to scan the planet to see if we can land without getting fried,” Keith explained. “Coran is working on repairing the Green Lion. It took quite a beating while you guys were escaping.”

“In my defense, piloting another Lion while blind is a lot harder than it looks,” Lance muttered.

“And Shiro is looking over the data Pidge retrieved,” Keith continued. “Since everyone was busy, I volunteered to stay here so you two wouldn’t wake up alone.”

“I’m glad you did,” Lance said softly. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Keith replied. “You should probably get changed and grab some food. You were in there all night.” He stood and held his hand out to Lance

“I just might.” He took Keith’s hand and rose to his feet.

 _‘My dear Lance, it’s goodbye to you forever.’_ Lotor’s voice echoed in his mind.

Lance froze.

The last time he had been in the healing pod, it had been as if no time had passed at all. Now that he knew he could dream, he didn’t plan on going back anytime soon. Everything had felt unbelievably real--the pain, the thunder, the rain pouring on them.  

“Hey,” Keith said, bringing him back to reality. “We’re going to get Hunk back.” He squeezed his shaking hand.

“Yeah...I know we will.” Lance smiled and squeezed back. “I’ll come back after I go to the kitchen and wait for Pidge to wake up. You look like you could use some rest." He made his was to the door and paused. "...And thanks again for being here.”

“Any time.” Keith nodded.

“By the way…Before I woke up...” Lance turned to look at Keith. “Were you cradling me in your arms?”

“I _told_ you, you fell out of the pod and wouldn’t wake up.” Keith explained quickly and looked away, red creeping up his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

“Whatever you say.” Lance grinned before he left.

 

* * *

 

Hunk was convinced they had all died in a painful, agonizing death. Except they were all still very much alive, and his head was killing him.

Hunk groaned and slowly opened his eyes. The purple glow from the dim lights within the cell flickered weakly. Or maybe Hunk was just about to pass out again. He squinted in the darkness as he waited for his eyes to adjust.

He had trouble seeing through one eye, but he decided to worry about it later. The prisoners were clinging to him as if they’re lives depended on it, too afraid to move as the ship finally landed on solid ground.

Hunk sighed in relief. They’d made it to the surface, a little worse for wear, but alive. Out of all the prisoners it seemed that he was one of the few who had been injured.

From what Hunk could tell, panels had come loose and were scattered around the cell. Hunk had the misfortune of getting nailed in the face with one of them during landing; he was sure one of the panels lying in the corner had an imprint of his screaming face. That, or it was the concussion making him see things.

His head was pounding and his mouth tasted like copper. He’d bitten his tongue during landing. Between the screaming, the turbulence, and the fear of being blasted out of the sky, he wasn’t exactly sure when it happened. Blood trailed down from a cut on his forehead, which would explain why he was seeing red in one eye.

 _‘Is everyone okay?’_ he sat up and looked around the cell.

“You’re injured.” a calm voice whispered beside him. It was hard to see what they looked like but Hunk was sure the prisoner was a woman. A scarf covered the lower half of her face. She appeared to be much older than Hunk, around Coran's age. Her piercing blue eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. Hunk shifted uncomfortably as she stared, almost analyzing him.

“I’m fine,” Hunk tried to say but it came out as ‘ _Muh fwine_.’

“You’re a Paladin,” she said, her eyes locked on the symbol on his chest.

“Ooo no abow Vuhron?” Hunk winced; maybe talking wasn’t a good idea. It only made the pain worse and he sounded like his mouth was full of cotton.

“Hold still,” she said. She glanced at the door and placed her hand against his cheek. Before he could ask what she was doing, the pain in his mouth disappeared.

“Whoa, wait...What did you do? _How_ did you do that?” Hunk exclaimed. Even his headache was gone and the cut on his forehead had stopped bleeding.

 _“Shush!_ _”_ she hissed before the cell door opened.

Hunk groaned as the light momentarily blinded him. When his eyes adjusted, he and the rest of the prisoners shrank back. Lotor stood at the doorway, and the two guards beside him pointed their guns at them.

The woman beside Hunk gasped softly and averted her eyes to the floor. Now that he could see her clearly, he noticed she had black hair and dark blue skin. Her long hair hung past her shoulders, shrouding her face.

“It’s going to be okay.” Hunk said softly, nudging the woman’s shoulder. She didn’t respond and kept her gaze down.

“Take the prisoners to be processed,” Lotor ordered the guards. “Leave the Paladin. I will deal with him myself.”

 _‘Everything is going to be fine,’_ Hunk repeated to himself. All he could do was hope the others would rescue them soon. Lotor remained by the door, his expression concealed by his mask. The material seemed to absorb no light, like an empty void.

 _‘Okay staring at that thing is only going to make me panic even more.’_ Hunk forced himself to look away, his eyes drifted to the bayards attached to Lotor’s belt. He stared at Lance’s bayard and hoped that his friends had back made it back to the castleship. They both had been in bad shape. He had no idea how Pidge had managed to pilot the Green Lion with only one arm.

_‘No, don’t think about it. Lance and Pidge are okay. They have to be.’_

Slowly, the prisoners stood and followed the guards out of the cell. The woman glanced back at Hunk as she followed the rest of the prisoners. She averted her eyes back to the floor as she walked past Lotor.  

His hand shot out and grabbed her forearm.

“Hey!” Hunk was on his feet, unsure what he could do with his hands bound.

After seeing what Lotor was capable of, Hunk was terrified that he would break her arm in an instant. Pidge had been wearing armor and Lotor had still snapped their arm like a twig. The woman had nothing but her prison garb to protect her.

Lotor stared at the woman silently, and she stared back, almost defiantly. She stood a head shorter than him yet in that moment, her gaze made her seem much more powerful than she appeared. Hunk watched them nervously. Something about their stare down made him feel as if they knew each other.

“Keep an eye on this one,” Lotor told the remaining guard before releasing her. Hunk sighed in relief and watched as the woman stumbled back, shaken but unharmed. She held her arm close to her side and followed the guard out the door.

 _‘And then there were two,’_ Hunk thought miserably.  

“Paladin,” Lotor began. Hunk tensed up when he closed the distance between them, “You will follow me and you will not speak unless addressed to. If you even attempt to escape, just know that no matter where you hide I _will_ find you.” His helmet was inches from Hunk’s face, he couldn’t even see his own reflection or any hint of Lotor’s facial features through the visor.

 _‘Noted.’_ Hunk thought.

Lotor turned on his heel without another word. Hunk silently followed out of the ship. The ship was docked at the bottom of a large cavern. He couldn’t see anywhere they could have entered from.

A group of mechanics were working on the ship to repair damage caused by the storm. The hull was scorched and charred. Sections of it had been warped by the lightning. Hunk was surprised they had managed to survive. He was glad he had been unconscious during the landing.

A pair of guards joined them as they exited the ship, their guns trained on his back. Hunk could feel the heat of their guns and sped up. It was difficult to keep up with Lotor’s long strides, but fear was proving to be a good motivator. As Hunk scanned his surroundings for a possible exit, they passed by the group of prisoners.

They stood in line as a Druid fitted a metal collar onto a prisoner’s neck. The lizard-like alien flinched when the collar locked into place. He was then sorted into a group of prisoners wearing same collar. Another group stood beside them. Metal bands wrapped around their heads and their wrists. The second group was led down one of the tunnels.

Hunk saw the dark haired woman standing at the end of one of the lines. She stood out next to the other prisoners, the way she carried herself and how she stood. Hunk guessed that she hadn't been imprisoned for long. Like him, she seemed to be looking for a way out, but the only exits were guarded by drones.

Their eyes met for a moment and she smiled. Why was she smiling?

Hunk watched as she shoved one of the guards aside. She grabbed the blade on his belt and took off towards a narrow crack in the wall.

“Capture the prisoner!” A guard yelled, but the woman had already slipped through the crevice.

“Leave her,” Lotor ordered, sounding as if he expected her to run. “The tunnels will take her soon enough.” There were always prisoners who believed they could escape, only to become trapped in the endless labyrinth and the creatures that dwell within it.

Hunk watched as the Druid approached the wall the woman disappeared into. They raised their staff and the crack closed off as if it had never existed.

 _Alright then,_ Hunk thought,  _That happened._

Lotor took Hunk deep into a dilapidated cavern. The path they walked on gave them a view of the ruins below. As they got closer, Hunk realized it was a city. If he currently wasn’t a prisoner, he would have found the view amazing. It looked as if the city had once been on the surface, only to be swallowed up by the ground. He thought back to the strange staff the Druid carried.

Built in the middle of the city was a much newer Galra outpost, surrounded by ruined remains of buildings. The outpost appeared to be the only thing holding up the roof of the cavern.

At the far end of the city, Hunk could see the edge of an enormous underground lake. The water appeared black and reflected the soft glow from the purple lights that filled the city. Abandoned buildings poked out beneath the dark waves like skeletons. Hunk couldn't help but imagine monsters swimming beneath the surface, he looked away.  

As they approached the city’s outskirts, they were met by a pair of guards. Behind them was a small shuttle. Hunk was shoved inside, and one of the guards sat beside him and pressed his gun into his side. Lotor sat in the front and spoke to the pilot.

Hunk barely had time to brace himself before the shuttle took off. His stomach lurched as the shuttle sped over the city. He pressed his forehead against the window and shut his eyes. Watching the ground speed by them only made him feel worse.  

“Decrepit walls, suffocating air, uneven ground, and the constant hum of machinery. This place is the _perfect_ vacation spot.” Hunk muttered under his breath. He had to tell the others about it when they rescued him.

Once his stomach settled, Hunk risked opening his eyes so he could look at the city. He spotted a number of prisoners, all wearing the same purple rags Shiro had worn when they rescued him so long ago.

Hunk sighed in relief when they finally landed. The guards brought him out of the shuttle and lead him towards the outpost.

“Take the prisoner to the lab,” Lotor ordered the guards. “Make sure he does not touch anything until I return.”

“As you command, Prince Lotor,” the guards saluted.

Hunk didn’t like the sound of this lab. He reluctantly followed the guards into the towering building. Hunk squinted to see the top, but it was obstructed by the cloud of dust that seemed to hang above them.

 

* * *

 

The ride up to the communications tower seemed to take longer than usual. Lotor leaned against the wall of the elevator. He removed his helmet and hooked it to his belt. His long, white hair, tied back in a braid, fell past his shoulders. He ran his fingers through the braided locks, untangling them.   

 _‘Better.’_ Lotor rubbed his neck and sighed when it made a satisfying pop.

His battle against the three paladins was nothing compared to when he fought the Champion. Shiro had proven to be a challenge, even before he received his robotic limb. What surprised him was the fall from speeder.

Lotor had been caught off guard when the Yellow Paladin chose to sacrifice himself to save his fellow teammates. He was smarter than he looked. What he lacked in dexterity he made up for it with his strength and intellect. Once again, humans proved to be an interesting species.

 _‘Or simply stupid.’_ Lotor thought.

He pulled the blue bayard off his belt and examined it. It activated in his hands, forming into a long sniper rifle. He held the weapon tightly, old memories slowly making their way to the surface. He'd been a child when he first held it in his hands, dreaming that he would be able to follow in his father's footsteps one day. The black bayard felt heavier on his hip. With a growl, he deactivated the blue bayard and returned it to his belt.

The elevator doors opened, and Lotor stepped into the communication center. A holo projector sat in the middle of the room.

“Connect me with Aeon from the main fleet, then leave us,” Lotor told the Galra stationed at the controls.

The Galra did as he was told, and the holo projector flickered to life. He saluted to Lotor before stepping onto the elevator.  

 _“You summoned me, Lotor?”_ Aeon responded, his image flickering from interference from the storms and the distance between them. _“Has something happened?”_

“I have one of the Voltron Paladins in my custody,” Lotor responded. The helmet covering Aeon’s face did little to mask his surprise.

 _“Is it the Black Paladin?”_ He asked eagerly, _“Have you captured the Champion?”_

“Sorry to disappoint you, but he was not among the Paladins who attempted to infiltrate the moon outpost,” Lotor answered. “But his comrades will no doubt return to rescue him. Fear not, you will see your Champion soon.”

Aeon said nothing to this. His fists clenched at his sides.

“I also wanted to inform you that I am also in possession of another one of their bayards.” Lotor held up the blue bayard. “The Blue Paladin will be unable to unlock his Lion’s abilities anytime soon.”

 _“What are they doing in your sector? It’s not a place that can be easily found,”_ Aeon questioned. He crossed his arms over his chest and kept his eyes on the blue bayard. _“It was once_ hers _, wasn’t it?”_ he asked.

“It was.” Lotor spoke softly.

“I suspect the Paladins are looking for someone,” Lotor changed the subject, “I discovered drones hacking into prisoner records.” He held out one of the drones he found crawling around the base. They were primitive, but he was interesting in seeing how it was built and decided to keep one for himself.

 _“That outpost has a large amount of prisoner records. How will you find the one they are searching for?”_ Aeon probed.

“I suspect they may be searching for a human. The Champion was not captured alone after all.” Lotor returned the drone and the bayard to his belt.

 _“I remember...”_ Aeon muttered, _“If that is all, I will inform our Lord of the news.”_

“I believe it would be best if we wait and see how things play out. The other Paladins will not be able to land on Malum for quite some time,” Lotor explained, “I have plans for the prisoner. With his connection to Voltron, he may be able to lead us to what we’ve been searching for. Once we’ve located it, I will have word sent to my father.”

 _“It’s on you if he discovers you’re keeping this from him,”_ Aeon warned him.

“Within the next cycle, our Lord will have Voltron in his possession.” Lotor reasoned.

 _“Very well,”_ Aeon said after a moment. _“I will keep quiet about your prisoner for now.”_ The communicator on his wrist came to life. _“We’ll have to cut this meeting short, I’ve been summoned by Haggar.”_

“Your student survived?” Lotor guessed. It wasn’t often that Aeon would willingly meet with the witch.

 _“It appears he’s finally recovered from his wounds,”_ Aeon answered. _“Why the sudden interest?  I thought you despised his kind.”_

“Curiosity…” Lotor admitted. “Humans are a rather resilient species.”

 _“I know that all too well…”_ Aeon muttered.

“Remain on standby with your student. I will contact you once I’ve determined if the Yellow Paladin will be of use to us,” Lotor ordered.    

 _“Very well, Vrepit Sa.”_  

“Vrepit Sa…” Lotor repeated dryly before the hologram disappeared.

 

* * *

 

 _‘I am going to die,’_ Matt groaned. His arm and leg, actually no, _everything_ felt like it was on fire.

It felt like ages since the creepy witch put him in this tank. He was still trying to piece together what had happened. He had been in the middle of a training session with Aeon when everything went wrong. The guards had been talking about a new prisoner, some kind of princess.

 _‘Of course there were space princesses. Why not?’_ Matt remembered thinking. Aeon had face planted him to the floor when the alarms had gone off. After that, everything had blurred together.

The fleet had been attacked, he knew that much. Aeon was with him while he was being escorted to a safer location. Had he survived the attack? A part of Matt hoped he did. Aeon was the closest thing he considered a friend on this hellhole.

Ever since he had been separated from Shiro, Aeon was the only person who seemed to care about him, even if he spent most of his time trying to break him into the perfect soldier.

Matt wasn’t even a soldier when he was back on earth. The only athletics he had even enjoyed was soccer, but training for the Kerberos mission had taken nearly all his spare time.

He didn’t want to think about home. It hurt too much.

Everything hurt, even opening his eyes felt unbearable. He forced himself to anyways; he was tired of being alone with his thoughts and the darkness. With some effort and a splitting headache later, Matt finally opened his eyes.

 _‘Back where I started,’_ Matt thought. He squinted, trying to see through the clouded amber liquid he was floating in. His left eye had gone dark, not that it mattered, there was very little to see anyways.

The same, old creepy Druid was keeping watch, the same machines, torture devices, and examination table outside of his tank. All it needed was some cobwebs, claw marks, maybe some blood splattered on the walls, and it would look as if it was straight out of a horror film.

Matt missed horror films.

He missed the warm buttery popcorn and the movie marathons he would have with his family. His favorite movies had always been the ones about humans going into space, fighting aliens, or both. When he had signed up for the Kerberos mission, he never thought he would end up abducted by aliens and used as a lab rat.

Matt stomach felt as if it were twisting inside of him. He shouldn’t have thought about popcorn; now he couldn’t get the thought out of his head. When was the last time he ate?

He had no way of telling how much time had past. It felt as if a few days had passed, but it could have been months for all he knew. 

His vision faded and he was gone again.

 

* * *

 

_“Again,” Aeon ordered. His knee dug painfully into Matt’s back and kept him him pinned to the ground. Emergency lights flashed around them. They’d been ignoring the alarms for the last hour. Matt had been hoping that whatever was setting off the alarms would cut training short; unfortunately it hadn’t._

_They were under orders to remain where they were. Matt could hear the guards standing watch on the other side of the room. They would whisper to one another, complaining that they were stuck babysitting and missing all the action._

_“Are you ready?” Aeon asked, raising his fists in front of him._

_“I can do this all day,” Matt muttered sarcastically. His nose was bleeding and his muscles screamed in protest as he moved into position._

_Honestly, he just wanted to curl up in a corner and sleep for the next 10 thousand years, but he doubted Aeon would let him. He lost track of the number of times he’d been pinned to the floor that day, and he still had a long way to go before training was over._

_He braced himself as Aeon shot towards him, but his fist stopped inches from his face._

_Aeon shook his head in disappointment. “You’re distracted.”_

_“Of course I’m distracted, I’ve been getting my ass kicked for over an hour and the alarms are still going off.” Matt could hear the distant sounds of explosions. The constant barrage was driving him insane._

_“You are improving,” Aeon reassured him. “You just need more physical training.”_

_“If you call falling on my face or punching a hole into a wall ‘improving’, then yeah, I am.” Matt took his hand and rose to his feet._

_“You need to learn your own strengths. You’ll master it soon enough.” Aeon smiled. It startled Matt. He rarely saw Aeon smile. He wasn’t wearing his helmet today either. Instead he donned a dark hood that shrouded his face. His long hair was tied back and wrapped around his neck to keep it from flying in his face while they sparred._

_Matt could see Aeon’s golden eyes piercing through the shadows. His eyes were a similar golden yellow now. Over a year of being experimented on had done that to him._

_He was essentially being held prisoner on an alien warship, not to mention his body and memories were constantly being altered and prodded at. He still had trouble wrapping his mind around everything._

_There were days where he wake up and completely forget where he was. On more than one occasion he attacked the guards posted outside of his room. They exchanged the guards with drones now, he made less of a mess that way._

_Matt's memory loss was only getting worse. It had taken him months to convince Aeon to let him have a device he could use to record what memories he could still remember before he lost them completely. Listening to the entries was often the only thing that kept him going. He was sure that he was constantly being monitored, and that Aeon wasn’t the only one who knew about the device but it didn't care. It was the only thing that kept him sane._

_It was strange, being treated both as a prisoner and as something valuable._

_“When will I be able to leave?” This wasn’t the first time he asked this and Aeon knew it. Still, he was the only one who would answer him._

_“Once you’ve proven yourself against me in battle,” Aeon responded neutrally. They both knew what Matt meant. He wanted to go home, but that wasn’t possible anymore, not while Voltron was still a threat. Voltron had destroyed Earth after all._

_He didn’t know how or why. At first, he found it hard to believe that a giant sentient robot had destroyed Earth while he had been on Kerberos with Shiro and his father. Did that mean they were the only humans left? He didn’t like to think about it._

_Aeon’s communicator came to life._

_“What is it?” Aeon asked whoever was on the other end. He listened for a few moments. “Very well.” He turned to the guards. “I’ve been ordered to guard the princess. I need you to escort my student to a safer location.”_

_“Wait-” Matt began, but Aeon cut him off._

_“You’ll be fine,” He reassured him, “I’ll come find you when the battle is over.”_

_With that, Aeon left Matt to be escorted by his guards. He didn’t know where they were taking him. He kept his eyes on the floor as they traveled through the halls._

_They slowed down as they passed by a large window. Hundreds of explosions light up the vast void before them._

_“What’s going on?” Matt stopped and stared out the window._

_“We can’t stay here,” one of the guards told him._

_But Matt couldn’t move. A large robot flew through the chaos. He had only seen it from the videos Aeon had shown him. It looked like a speck next to the command ship, yet it tore through the fighter ships as if they were made of paper._

_“Is that...  Voltron ? ” Matt asked one of the guards, unable to tear his eyes away._

_The sight filled him with revulsion. There was the one responsible for destroying his home. It was right there and Matt couldn't do anything to stop it. Voltron suddenly broke apart into five pieces, which flew into separate directions, save for one. The Black Lion remained where it was, drifting lifelessly in space. Something about it called to Matt, but he had no idea why._

_“Keep moving!” the guard growled._

_“But-” He never finished his sentence._

_A red beam of energy shot out of the Red Lion._ _Everything seemed to move in slow motion. The hall shook violently as explosions tore through the sector._

_Matt braced himself as the explosion reached them. Then everything became dark._

 

* * *

 

_He wasn’t dead. Everything hurt too much for him to be dead. The only thing that didn’t hurt was his leg. It felt numb actually, which probably wasn’t a good thing. Matt groaned and opened his eyes, but he wished he hadn’t._

_Debris and dead soldiers drifted around him, and so did the stars._

_So many stars._

_‘Weird.’ Matt thought, his hair floated around his head. Had he forgotten to put on his helmet? He felt like he was underwater but everything felt unnaturally quiet._

_Golden ribbons of light drifted around him. He wasn’t sure what they were, but they were pretty. He reached out to touch one but his arm uselessly drifted by his side._

_Past the ribbons, he could see a large wormhole had opened up. A white castle-like ship flew towards it. The Lions flew into the ship as it began disappearing into the wormhole._

_Matt reached out to the Black Lion, feeling the familiar presence again. “S-Shiro?” Matt weakly called out. “Shiro!” He coughed. He called out again but knew it was useless, he couldn't hear him._

_Questions drifted across his fading consciousness. What was Shiro doing there? Why was he with Voltron?  Had he come for that princess the guards mentioned?  Did Shiro even know he was there? Why did he leave? Where was he going?_

_“Don’t leave me behind again…” He strained to reach out but the wormhole vanished, along with Shiro._

_He felt cold. So cold_.

* * *

 

Aeon stood beside Matt, who had been moved onto the examination table. His hair was damp and tangled. Aeon pushed a strand out of Matt’s face; behind his eyelid was a prosthetic eye. He wished it had been the only part of him that needed to be replaced.

Beneath the thin rag that covered Matt, his hand and leg had also been replaced with robotic prosthetic. Those were only the injuries he could see. He knew Matt sustained internal damage, both physical and mental. Perhaps if he had stayed with him then he wouldn't have been caught in the blast.

Aeon had been the one who found Matt floating in space. If he had arrived any later, he would have likely perished, even with his enhancements. He absently traced the scar below Matt's eye. 

“Don’t leave me…” Matt whimpered softly as he slept.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Aeon spoke softly. “I won’t leave you behind like he did to us.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING. If you did, congrats you probably know my plot better than I do.
> 
> So Matt has finally appeared, as well as an OC I've been wanting to introduce since the beginning. Both Matt and Aeon will play a huge roll in the plot and you'll get some back story for them in the future. I'll try to post sooner but depending on my classes, we'll see.

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic in a few years and I hope I can actually finish this one. I plan to have some original characters in the story since a part of this fic will take place in Shiro's past and the team will be meeting new aliens and visiting planets. It will also feature some characters from the older Voltron series.


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